Prefix-substitution forgery via integer overflow in wolfCrypt CMAC
An integer overflow existed in the wolfCrypt CMAC implementation, that could be exploited to forge CMAC tags. The function wc_CmacUpdate used the guard `if (cmac->totalSz != 0)` to skip XOR-chaining on the first block (where digest is all-zeros and the XOR is a no-op). However, totalSz is word32 and wraps to zero after 2^28 block flushes (4 GiB), causing the guard to erroneously discard the live CBC-MAC chain state. Any two messages sharing a common suffix beyond the 4 GiB mark then produce identical CMAC tags, enabling a zero-work prefix-substitution forgery. The fix removes the guard, making the XOR unconditional; the no-op property on the first block is preserved because digest is zero-initialized by wc_InitCmac_ex.
Problem Types
| Type | CWE ID | Description |
|---|
| CWE | CWE-190 | CWE-190 Integer overflow or wraparound |
Type: CWE
Description: CWE-190 Integer overflow or wraparound
Metrics
| Version | Base score | Base severity | Vector |
|---|
| 4.0 | 8.2 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
Version: 4.0
Base score: 8.2
Base severity: HIGH
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N