Headline
GHSA-3wfh-36rx-9537: Timing Attack Vulnerability in SCRAM Authentication
Impact
A timing attack vulnerability exists in the SCRAM Java implementation. The issue arises because Arrays.equals was used to compare secret values such as client proofs and server signatures. Since Arrays.equals performs a short-circuit comparison, the execution time varies depending on how many leading bytes match. This behavior could allow an attacker to perform a timing side-channel attack and potentially infer sensitive authentication material. All users relying on SCRAM authentication are impacted.
Patches
This vulnerability has been patched by replacing Arrays.equals with MessageDigest.isEqual, which ensures constant-time comparison.
Users should upgrade to version 3.2 or later to mitigate this issue.
Workarounds
Because the attack requires high precision and repeated attempts, the risk is limited, but the only reliable mitigation is to upgrade to a patched release (version 3.2 or later).
References
- GitHub Advisory Database
- GitHub Reviewed
- GHSA-3wfh-36rx-9537
Timing Attack Vulnerability in SCRAM Authentication
Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published Sep 16, 2025 in ongres/scram • Updated Sep 16, 2025
Package
maven com.ongres.scram:scram-common (Maven)
Impact
A timing attack vulnerability exists in the SCRAM Java implementation. The issue arises because Arrays.equals was used to compare secret values such as client proofs and server signatures. Since Arrays.equals performs a short-circuit comparison, the execution time varies depending on how many leading bytes match. This behavior could allow an attacker to perform a timing side-channel attack and potentially infer sensitive authentication material. All users relying on SCRAM authentication are impacted.
Patches
This vulnerability has been patched by replacing Arrays.equals with MessageDigest.isEqual, which ensures constant-time comparison.
Users should upgrade to version 3.2 or later to mitigate this issue.
Workarounds
Because the attack requires high precision and repeated attempts, the risk is limited, but the only reliable mitigation is to upgrade to a patched release (version 3.2 or later).
References
- Java MessageDigest.isEqual Documentation
References
- GHSA-3wfh-36rx-9537
- ongres/scram@f049756
- https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/25/docs/api/java.base/java/security/MessageDigest.html#isEqual(byte%5B%5D,byte%5B%5D)
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database
Sep 16, 2025
Last updated
Sep 16, 2025