CVE-2020-12401
nss: ECDSA timing attack mitigation bypass
Severity
ModerateRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.1
Review impact separately from score.
Published · June 30, 2020
Updated · August 20, 2026
Description
A flaw was found in nss. Using the EM side-channel, it is possible to extract the position of zero and non-zero wNAF digits while nss-certutil tool performs scalar multiplication during the ECDSA signature generation, leaking partial information about the ECDSA nonce. Given a small number of ECDSA signatures, this information can be used to steal the private key. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality.
Statement
This is a side channel attack which can used to exact pirate keys when ECDSA signatures are being generated. This attack is only feasible when the attacker is local to the machine or in certain cross-VM scenarios where the signature is being generated. Attacks over the network or via the internet are not feasible.
CVSS score applicability
The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.
Mitigation
This is a side channel attack which can used to exact pirate keys when ECDSA signatures are being generated. This attack is only feasible when the attacker is local to the machine or in certain cross-VM scenarios where the signature is being generated. Attacks over the network or via the internet are not feasible.
CVSS / CWE
CVSS 3.1 · 4.4CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CWE-327 · Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm