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CVE-2022-36083

JOSE vulnerable to resource exhaustion via specifically crafted JWE

Description

JOSE is "JSON Web Almost Everything" - JWA, JWS, JWE, JWT, JWK, JWKS with no dependencies using runtime's native crypto in Node.js, Browser, Cloudflare Workers, Electron, and Deno. The PBKDF2-based JWE key management algorithms expect a JOSE Header Parameter named `p2c` PBES2 Count, which determines how many PBKDF2 iterations must be executed in order to derive a CEK wrapping key. The purpose of this parameter is to intentionally slow down the key derivation function in order to make password brute-force and dictionary attacks more expensive. This makes the PBES2 algorithms unsuitable for situations where the JWE is coming from an untrusted source: an adversary can intentionally pick an extremely high PBES2 Count value, that will initiate a CPU-bound computation that may take an unreasonable amount of time to finish. Under certain conditions, it is possible to have the user's environment consume unreasonable amount of CPU time. The impact is limited only to users utilizing the JWE decryption APIs with symmetric secrets to decrypt JWEs from untrusted parties who do not limit the accepted JWE Key Management Algorithms (`alg` Header Parameter) using the `keyManagementAlgorithms` (or `algorithms` in v1.x) decryption option or through other means. The `v1.28.2`, `v2.0.6`, `v3.20.4`, and `v4.9.2` releases limit the maximum PBKDF2 iteration count to `10000` by default. It is possible to adjust this limit with a newly introduced `maxPBES2Count` decryption option. If users are unable to upgrade their required library version, they have two options depending on whether they expect to receive JWEs using any of the three PBKDF2-based JWE key management algorithms. They can use the `keyManagementAlgorithms` decryption option to disable accepting PBKDF2 altogether, or they can inspect the JOSE Header prior to using the decryption API and limit the PBKDF2 iteration count (`p2c` Header Parameter).

Public exploit

An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: a proof of concept is public.

Timeline

  1. ID reserved

    By GitHub_M

  2. · 54 days later

    Published

  3. · 3 years later

    Record updated

Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.

Scores

CVSS scores of CVE-2022-36083, by who scored it
Scored byCVSSScoreVector
GitHub_MCNA (assigner)3.1Medium5.3CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
NVDNVD · Modified3.1Medium5.3CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
1.6% · top 23% of all CVEs (11 Nov 2026)
CISA SSVC
Exploitation: poc · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: partial
Loading the EPSS history…

The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 5.3.

Affected products

  • panva · jose

    • affected >= 1.0, < 1.28.2
    • affected >= 2.0, < 2.0.6
    • affected >= 3.0, < 3.20.4
    • affected >= 4.0, < 4.9.2

Affected packages

Affected packages4

From reviewed advisories of the GitHub Advisory Database.

References

References3

Sources

The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.

Badge for a README or a ticket

CVE-2022-36083 badge
[![CVE-2022-36083](https://cveledger.app/badge/CVE-2022-36083.svg)](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2022-36083)

Record last updated .