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Mbed TlsApplication · Trustedfirmware

CVE-2024-45158

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An issue was discovered in Mbed TLS 3.6 before 3.6.1. A stack buffer overflow in mbedtls_ecdsa_der_to_raw() and mbedtls_ecdsa_raw_to_der() can occur when the bits parameter is larger than the largest supported curve. In some configurations with PSA disabled, all values of bits are affected. (This never happens in internal library calls, but can affect applications that call these functions directly.)

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Stack buffer overflow vulnerability in Mbed TLS ECDSA signature conversion functions mbedtls_ecdsa_der_to_raw() and mbedtls_ecdsa_raw_to_der() allows writing beyond allocated buffer boundaries when the bits parameter exceeds the largest supported elliptic curve size. With PSA disabled, all bits values are affected, potentially allowing remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Mbed TLS to version 3.6.1 or later. If upgrading is not immediately possible, add application-layer validation to ensure the bits parameter does not exceed the maximum supported curve size (typically 521 bits for secp521r1) before calling these functions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Mbed TlsApplication
Affected:= 3.6.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Mbed TLS version
    Locate the mbedtls library in your environment and check its version. This is typically found in version.h, version.c, or by querying the library binary (e.g., mbedtls_version). Confirm the version is exactly 3.6.0.
    Affected if Version is 3.6.0 exactly.
  2. Check PSA crypto configuration status
    Examine the mbedtls configuration file (mbedtls_config.h) or build configuration for the presence of MBEDTLS_PSA_CRYPTO_CONFIG or related PSA macros. Determine whether PSA (Platform Security Architecture) crypto is enabled or disabled in the build.
    Affected if PSA crypto is DISABLED (not configured) in the build configuration.
  3. Verify application uses affected ECDSA functions
    Search your application source code and linked libraries for calls to mbedtls_ecdsa_der_to_raw() or mbedtls_ecdsa_raw_to_der() functions. These are the two vulnerable functions.
    Affected if The application code calls either mbedtls_ecdsa_der_to_raw() or mbedtls_raw_to_der() functions.
  4. Confirm bits parameter handling
    Review the code paths that invoke the affected functions. Determine if the bits parameter passed to these functions could exceed 521 (the maximum for secp521r1) or if any validation exists before the call.
    Affected if No validation exists on the bits parameter before calling the vulnerable functions, or bits can exceed 521.

You are affected if running Mbed TLS version 3.6.0 with PSA crypto disabled AND your application uses the vulnerable mbedtls_ecdsa_der_to_raw() or mbedtls_ecdsa_raw_to_der() functions without validating the bits parameter.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Mbed TLS to version 3.6.1 or later. If upgrading is not immediately possible, add application-layer validation to ensure the bits parameter does not exceed the maximum supported curve size (typically 521 bits for secp521r1) before calling these functions.

Recommended fix High confidence

3.6.1

  1. Upgrade Mbed TLS from version 3.6.0 to version 3.6.1 to resolve the stack buffer overflow vulnerability
  2. After upgrading, verify the library version is correctly reported as 3.6.1 using mbedtls_version_get_number() or equivalent
  3. If your application directly calls mbedtls_ecdsa_der_to_raw() or mbedtls_ecdsa_raw_to_der() with user-controlled bits parameters, validate that bits does not exceed the largest supported curve size (typically 521 for secp521r1)

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mbed Tls Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-45158 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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