Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw affects the Go package github.com/flynn/noise. In extreme message volumes it can reuse cryptographic nonces, weakening message security. Separately, malformed input can desynchronize peers and break future communication. The practical business concern is service disruption for systems using this library in network-facing encrypted protocols.
Executive priority
Prioritize systems where this library protects network-facing services or critical service-to-service channels. Treat as high priority for availability risk, with cryptographic risk mainly relevant to extremely long-lived or high-volume sessions.
Technical view
The Encrypt path allows nonce counter wrap after 2^64 encrypted messages, causing key and nonce reuse. The Decrypt path increments nonce state even when decryption fails, so attacker-supplied invalid ciphertext can desynchronize peer state and prevent subsequent successful communication.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to software that imports github.com/flynn/noise and uses it for Noise protocol sessions, especially network services receiving untrusted peer input. The bundle does not identify downstream products or deployments.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not cite active exploitation, and KEV is false. The denial-of-service condition appears network-reachable when an attacker can submit invalid input to Decrypt. The nonce-wrap issue requires an unusually large number of encrypted messages in one state.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strongest for the root causes described in GO-2022-0425 and the upstream PR reference. The bundle does not provide a confirmed fixed version, exploit reports, or affected downstream products, so remediation should be validated against current vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Go services importing github.com/flynn/noise.
- Check GO-2022-0425 and upstream PR #44 for vendor-approved fixes.
- Upgrade or vendor a confirmed patched version when available.
- Reduce exposure of untrusted Noise traffic until remediation is confirmed.
- Avoid long-lived sessions approaching extreme message counts.
Validation and detection
- Search dependency manifests for github.com/flynn/noise.
- Confirm deployed builds include the vulnerable package version.
- Review protocol entry points that call Decrypt on remote input.
- Test malformed input handling in a controlled environment.
- Verify patched builds preserve peer nonce synchronization after failed decrypts.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2021-4239 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/flynn/noise/pull/44CVE reference
- https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2022-0425CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
