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CVE Record

CVE-2017-14737: A cryptographic cache-based side channel in the RSA implementation in Botan before 1.10.17, and 1.11.x and...

A cryptographic cache-based side channel in the RSA implementation in Botan before 1.10.17, and 1.11.x and 2.x before 2.3.0, allows a local attacker to recover information about RSA secret keys, as demonstrated by CacheD. This occurs because an array is indexed with bits derived from a secret key.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Botan RSA flaw can leak information about private keys through CPU cache behavior. An attacker needs local execution near the vulnerable cryptographic operation, but successful leakage could undermine RSA key confidentiality. The source bundle does not show active exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat as a priority for systems protecting high-value RSA keys, particularly shared compute environments. The urgency is lower than a remotely exploitable bug, but key leakage can have serious business impact.

Technical view

Botan before 1.10.17, and 1.11.x/2.x before 2.3.0, indexed an array using bits derived from an RSA secret key. That creates a cache-based side channel, described as demonstrated by CacheD, allowing a local attacker to recover key information.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on systems using affected Botan versions for RSA private-key operations, especially shared hosts, multi-user servers, or environments running untrusted local code. The bundle does not identify specific downstream products.

Exploitation context

The CVE describes a local attacker and a demonstrated cache side channel. CISA KEV status is false in the bundle, and no provided source states active exploitation in the wild.

Researcher notes

The key technical issue is secret-dependent memory indexing in Botan RSA. Available evidence supports local cache side-channel risk and fixed-version guidance, but the bundle lacks CVSS, CWE mapping, affected CPEs, and detailed exploit prevalence.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Botan to 1.10.17, 2.3.0, or later as applicable.
  • Apply operating-system security updates for packaged Botan libraries.
  • Check Debian guidance if using botan1.10 on Debian LTS systems.
  • Reduce co-residency with untrusted local workloads around RSA private-key operations.
  • Review vendor guidance for any downstream product-specific remediation.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory applications and packages linked against Botan.
  • Confirm Botan versions are not earlier than the fixed releases.
  • Identify services performing RSA private-key operations with Botan.
  • Check Debian package status against DLA 2812-1 where applicable.
  • Document whether untrusted local users or workloads share affected hosts.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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Credential and access behavior lookup

The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2017-14737 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.