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CVE Record

CVE-2023-5678: Excessive time spent in DH check / generation with large Q parameter value

Issue summary: Generating excessively long X9.42 DH keys or checking excessively long X9.42 DH keys or parameters may be very slow. Impact summary: Applications that use the functions DH_generate_key() to generate an X9.42 DH key may experience long delays. Likewise, applications that use DH_check_pub_key(), DH_check_pub_key_ex() or EVP_PKEY_public_check() to check an X9.42 DH key or X9.42 DH parameters may experience long delays. Where the key or parameters that are being checked have been obtained from an untrusted source this may lead to a Denial of Service. While DH_check() performs all the necessary checks (as of CVE-2023-3817), DH_check_pub_key() doesn't make any of these checks, and is therefore vulnerable for excessively large P and Q parameters. Likewise, while DH_generate_key() performs a check for an excessively large P, it doesn't check for an excessively large Q. An application that calls DH_generate_key() or DH_check_pub_key() and supplies a key or parameters obtained from an untrusted source could be vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack. DH_generate_key() and DH_check_pub_key() are also called by a number of other OpenSSL functions. An application calling any of those other functions may similarly be affected. The other functions affected by this are DH_check_pub_key_ex(), EVP_PKEY_public_check(), and EVP_PKEY_generate(). Also vulnerable are the OpenSSL pkey command line application when using the "-pubcheck" option, as well as the OpenSSL genpkey command line application. The OpenSSL SSL/TLS implementation is not affected by this issue. The OpenSSL 3.0 and 3.1 FIPS providers are not affected by this issue.

MediumCVSS 5.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2023-5678 can make affected OpenSSL-based applications spend excessive CPU time handling unusually large X9.42 Diffie-Hellman values. The main business risk is denial of service, not data theft. OpenSSL says its SSL/TLS implementation and OpenSSL 3.0/3.1 FIPS providers are not affected.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate availability risk. Prioritize systems that process user-supplied cryptographic keys or parameters, especially internet-facing services and vendor products bundling OpenSSL. Broad emergency action is not supported by the provided evidence.

Technical view

Affected OpenSSL functions include DH_generate_key(), DH_check_pub_key(), DH_check_pub_key_ex(), EVP_PKEY_public_check(), and EVP_PKEY_generate(). Large X9.42 DH Q, and in some checks large P, can cause long delays when keys or parameters come from untrusted sources. The pkey -pubcheck and genpkey command-line uses are also vulnerable.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in applications, appliances, or scripts that accept untrusted X9.42 DH keys or parameters and call affected OpenSSL APIs. General OpenSSL presence alone is not enough evidence. TLS-only use appears out of scope based on the OpenSSL advisory.

Exploitation context

The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no evidence of active exploitation. The condition is remotely relevant where an unauthenticated user can supply DH material that is later checked or used for generation. Impact is availability degradation through slow processing.

Researcher notes

CWE-606 fits the uncontrolled resource-consumption pattern. The key nuance is scope: affected API paths differ from OpenSSL TLS, and FIPS providers are excluded. Validate actual code paths before declaring exposure. Evidence provided supports patches but not exploit activity.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory affected OpenSSL versions and uses of X9.42 DH validation or generation.
  • Upgrade to vendor-fixed OpenSSL releases where applicable.
  • Apply downstream vendor updates for embedded OpenSSL in appliances and operating systems.
  • Reduce or reject untrusted DH parameter intake where business logic allows.
  • Monitor vendor advisories for products bundling OpenSSL.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether applications call the affected OpenSSL functions with untrusted inputs.
  • Check deployed OpenSSL versions against vendor-fixed release guidance.
  • Verify TLS-only services are not misclassified as exposed.
  • Review command-line jobs using pkey -pubcheck or genpkey.
  • Track downstream advisories for NetApp, Debian, Siemens, and other suppliers.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
10

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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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-606: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-5678 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.3 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
3ADP providers
21Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: yesTechnical Impact: partial

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.3CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L3.91.4CISA-ADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

5.3Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2023-5678Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CVECVE Program Container
CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
cvssV3_1other:ssvc
siemens-SADPADP container

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
OpenSSLOpenSSL1.0.2, 1.1.1, 3.0.0, 3.1.0unaffected
Weakness

CWE details

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