CVE-2019-1547 | ECDSA remote timing attack

Normally in OpenSSL EC groups always have a co-factor present and this is used in side channel resistant code paths. However, in some cases, it is possible to construct a group using explicit parameters (instead of using a named curve). In those cases it is possible that such a group does not have the cofactor present. This can occur even where all the parameters match a known named curve. If such a curve is used then OpenSSL falls back to non-side channel resistant code paths which may result in full key recovery during an ECDSA signature operation. In order to be vulnerable an attacker would have to have the ability to time the creation of a large number of signatures where explicit parameters with no co-factor present are in use by an application using libcrypto. For the avoidance of doubt libssl is not vulnerable because explicit parameters are never used. Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1d (Affected 1.1.1-1.1.1c). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.0l (Affected 1.1.0-1.1.0k). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2t (Affected 1.0.2-1.0.2s).

Published: 2019-09-10 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2019-1547 is rated Moderate Risk (42.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.20%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-1547

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.26% 1.20% +0.94%
2 2025-12-28 0.23% 0.26% +0.03%
3 2025-12-27 0.23%

Full EPSS history (19 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-1547

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.0 3.6 [email protected]
1.9 2.0 LOW
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
3.4 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2019-1547

OS Trackers for CVE-2019-1547

vendor priority summary link
alpine medium CVE-2019-1547: 3 source package rows (openssl, openssl1.1-compat, openssl3); 15 state rows across 13 repos (3.10-main, 3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.17-community, 3.17-main, 3.18-community, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-community, edge-main); fixed 15, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2019-1547
debian not yet assigned CVE-2019-1547 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (openssl), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2019-1547
gentoo low CVE-2019-1547: 1 GLSA(s) (201911-04), 1 atom(s) (dev-libs/openssl); latest impact low. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2019-1547
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-1547
suse medium CVE-2019-1547 severity moderate: SUSE including 490 source package names (0.1.0:libopenssl1_1-1.1.0i-14.3.1, 0.1.75:libopenssl1_1-1.1.0i-14.3.1, …), 873 product×package rows across 169 product lines (Container caasp/v4/389-ds, Container caasp/v4/busybox, … (169 product lines)): Fixed 677, Known Affected 157, Known Not Affected 39. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-1547/
ubuntu low CVE-2019-1547 low priority: Ubuntu including 4 source packages (edk2, nodejs, openssl, openssl1.0), 28 status rows across 7 suites (bionic, disco, eoan, focal, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 11, released 7, DNE 6, needs-triage 3, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-1547

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-1547

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
openssl openssl >= 1.0.2, <= 1.0.2s cpe:2.3:a:openssl:openssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
openssl openssl >= 1.1.0, <= 1.1.0k cpe:2.3:a:openssl:openssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
openssl openssl >= 1.1.1, <= 1.1.1c cpe:2.3:a:openssl:openssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-1547

URL Tags
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00054.html
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00072.html
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-10/msg00012.html
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-10/msg00016.html
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154467/Slackware-Security-Advisory-openssl-Updates.html
https://arxiv.org/abs/1909.01785 Third Party Advisory
https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=21c856b75d81eff61aa63b4f036bb64a85bf6d46
https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=30c22fa8b1d840036b8e203585738df62a03cec8
https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=7c1709c2da5414f5b6133d00a03fc8c5bf996c7a
https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10365
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/09/msg00026.html
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/GY6SNRJP2S7Y42GIIDO3HXPNMDYN2U3A/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZN4VVQJ3JDCHGIHV4Y2YTXBYQZ6PWQ7E/
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Oct/0
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Oct/1
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Sep/25 Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201911-04
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190919-0002/
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200122-0002/
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200416-0003/
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240621-0006/
https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K73422160?utm_source=f5support&amp%3Butm_medium=RSS
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4376-1/
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4376-2/
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4504-1/
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4539
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4540
https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20190910.txt Vendor Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2020.html
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2020.html
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2020.html
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2020.html
https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2019-5072832.html
https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2019-08
https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2019-09
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