In PyJWT 1.5.0 and below the `invalid_strings` check in `HMACAlgorithm.prepare_key` does not account for all PEM encoded public keys. Specifically, the PKCS1 PEM encoded format would be allowed because it is prefaced with the string `-----BEGIN RSA PUBLIC KEY-----` which is not accounted for. This enables symmetric/asymmetric key confusion attacks against users using the PKCS1 PEM encoded public keys, which would allow an attacker to craft JWTs from scratch.
The MITRE CVE dictionary describes this issue as:
Find out more about CVE-2017-11424 from the MITRE CVE dictionary dictionary and NIST NVD.
NOTE: The following CVSS v3 metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
| CVSS3 Base Score | 5.3 |
|---|---|
| CVSS3 Base Metrics | CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N |
| Attack Vector | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low |
| Privileges Required | None |
| User Interaction | None |
| Scope | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None |
| Integrity Impact | Low |
| Availability Impact | None |
| Platform | Package | State |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Gluster Storage 3 | python-jwt | Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | python-jwt | Not affected |
Vulmon