CVE-2023-46233
crypto-js PBKDF2 1,000 times weaker than specified in 1993 and 1.3M times weaker than current standard
- State
- Published
- Severity
- 9.1 Critical
- Published
- Oct 25, 2023
- Updated
- Jun 23, 2026
- Reserved
- Oct 19, 2023
Description
crypto-js is a JavaScript library of crypto standards. Prior to version 4.2.0, crypto-js PBKDF2 is 1,000 times weaker than originally specified in 1993, and at least 1,300,000 times weaker than current industry standard. This is because it both defaults to SHA1, a cryptographic hash algorithm considered insecure since at least 2005, and defaults to one single iteration, a 'strength' or 'difficulty' value specified at 1,000 when specified in 1993. PBKDF2 relies on iteration count as a countermeasure to preimage and collision attacks. If used to protect passwords, the impact is high. If used to generate signatures, the impact is high. Version 4.2.0 contains a patch for this issue. As a workaround, configure crypto-js to use SHA256 with at least 250,000 iterations.
Scores
| CVSS | Score | Vector | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 9.1 Critical | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N | GitHub_M |
Weaknesses
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
crypto-jsbrix |
|
References
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