7.5
HIGH CVSS 3.1
CVE-2024-36405
Liboqs Kyber Timing Leak
Description

liboqs is a C-language cryptographic library that provides implementations of post-quantum cryptography algorithms. A control-flow timing lean has been identified in the reference implementation of the Kyber key encapsulation mechanism when it is compiled with Clang 15-18 for `-Os`, `-O1`, and other compilation options. A proof-of-concept local attack on the reference implementation leaks the entire ML-KEM 512 secret key in ~10 minutes using end-to-end decapsulation timing measurements. The issue has been fixed in version 0.10.1. As a possible workaround, some compiler options may produce vectorized code that does not leak secret information, however relying on these compiler options as a workaround may not be reliable.

INFO

Published Date :

June 10, 2024, 1:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

Aug. 20, 2025, 5:48 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !

Source :

[email protected]
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2024-36405 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Openquantumsafe liboqs
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 1
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 MEDIUM [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
This information is provided by the 3rd party feeds.
  • Update the affected packages.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2024-36405.

URL Resource
https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/blob/7eecda6095c003ddded7175a1ffdf35a2ce63ed5/src/kem/kyber/pqcrystals-kyber_kyber512_ref/poly.c#L166 Product
https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/commit/982c762c242ef549c914891b47bf6e0ed6321f91 Patch
https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/security/advisories/GHSA-f2v9-5498-2vpp Patch Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/pq-crystals/kyber/commit/9b8d30698a3e7449aeb34e62339d4176f11e3c6c Patch
https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/blob/7eecda6095c003ddded7175a1ffdf35a2ce63ed5/src/kem/kyber/pqcrystals-kyber_kyber512_ref/poly.c#L166 Product
https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/commit/982c762c242ef549c914891b47bf6e0ed6321f91 Patch
https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/security/advisories/GHSA-f2v9-5498-2vpp Patch Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/pq-crystals/kyber/commit/9b8d30698a3e7449aeb34e62339d4176f11e3c6c Patch
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2024-36405 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2024-36405 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2024-36405 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2024-36405 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Aug. 20, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:openquantumsafe:liboqs:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 0.10.1
    Added Reference Type CVE: https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/blob/7eecda6095c003ddded7175a1ffdf35a2ce63ed5/src/kem/kyber/pqcrystals-kyber_kyber512_ref/poly.c#L166 Types: Product
    Added Reference Type GitHub, Inc.: https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/blob/7eecda6095c003ddded7175a1ffdf35a2ce63ed5/src/kem/kyber/pqcrystals-kyber_kyber512_ref/poly.c#L166 Types: Product
    Added Reference Type CVE: https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/commit/982c762c242ef549c914891b47bf6e0ed6321f91 Types: Patch
    Added Reference Type GitHub, Inc.: https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/commit/982c762c242ef549c914891b47bf6e0ed6321f91 Types: Patch
    Added Reference Type CVE: https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/security/advisories/GHSA-f2v9-5498-2vpp Types: Patch, Vendor Advisory
    Added Reference Type GitHub, Inc.: https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/security/advisories/GHSA-f2v9-5498-2vpp Types: Patch, Vendor Advisory
    Added Reference Type CVE: https://github.com/pq-crystals/kyber/commit/9b8d30698a3e7449aeb34e62339d4176f11e3c6c Types: Patch
    Added Reference Type GitHub, Inc.: https://github.com/pq-crystals/kyber/commit/9b8d30698a3e7449aeb34e62339d4176f11e3c6c Types: Patch
  • CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    Nov. 21, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/blob/7eecda6095c003ddded7175a1ffdf35a2ce63ed5/src/kem/kyber/pqcrystals-kyber_kyber512_ref/poly.c#L166
    Added Reference https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/commit/982c762c242ef549c914891b47bf6e0ed6321f91
    Added Reference https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/security/advisories/GHSA-f2v9-5498-2vpp
    Added Reference https://github.com/pq-crystals/kyber/commit/9b8d30698a3e7449aeb34e62339d4176f11e3c6c
  • CVE Received by [email protected]

    Jun. 10, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description liboqs is a C-language cryptographic library that provides implementations of post-quantum cryptography algorithms. A control-flow timing lean has been identified in the reference implementation of the Kyber key encapsulation mechanism when it is compiled with Clang 15-18 for `-Os`, `-O1`, and other compilation options. A proof-of-concept local attack on the reference implementation leaks the entire ML-KEM 512 secret key in ~10 minutes using end-to-end decapsulation timing measurements. The issue has been fixed in version 0.10.1. As a possible workaround, some compiler options may produce vectorized code that does not leak secret information, however relying on these compiler options as a workaround may not be reliable.
    Added Reference GitHub, Inc. https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/security/advisories/GHSA-f2v9-5498-2vpp [No types assigned]
    Added Reference GitHub, Inc. https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/commit/982c762c242ef549c914891b47bf6e0ed6321f91 [No types assigned]
    Added Reference GitHub, Inc. https://github.com/pq-crystals/kyber/commit/9b8d30698a3e7449aeb34e62339d4176f11e3c6c [No types assigned]
    Added Reference GitHub, Inc. https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs/blob/7eecda6095c003ddded7175a1ffdf35a2ce63ed5/src/kem/kyber/pqcrystals-kyber_kyber512_ref/poly.c#L166 [No types assigned]
    Added CWE GitHub, Inc. CWE-208
    Added CWE GitHub, Inc. CWE-385
    Added CVSS V3.1 GitHub, Inc. AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 7.5
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact