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RUSTSEC-2025-0144

MediumCVSS 6.4 / 10
Published Dec 12, 2025·Last modified Jan 27, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

Summary

A timing side-channel was discovered in the Decompose algorithm which is used during ML-DSA signing to generate hints for the signature.

Details

The analysis was performed using a constant-time analyzer that examines compiled assembly code for instructions with data-dependent timing behavior. The analyzer flags:

  • UDIV/SDIV instructions: Hardware division instructions have early termination optimizations where execution time depends on operand values.

The decompose function used a hardware division instruction to compute r1.0 / TwoGamma2::U32. This function is called during signing through high_bits() and low_bits(), which process values derived from secret key components:

  • (&w - &cs2).low_bits() where cs2 is derived from secret key component s2
  • Hint::new() calls high_bits() on values derived from secret key component t0

Original Code:

fn decompose<TwoGamma2: Unsigned>(self) -> (Elem, Elem) {
    // ...
    let mut r1 = r_plus - r0;
    r1.0 /= TwoGamma2::U32;  // Variable-time division on secret-derived data
    (r1, r0)
}

Impact

The dividend (r1.0) is derived from secret key material. An attacker with precise timing measurements could extract information about the signing key by observing timing variations in the division operation.

Mitigation

Integer division was replaced with a constant-time Barrett reduction.

Risk Scores
Base Score
6.4

The vulnerability can be exploited over a local network, such as Wi-Fi. It is difficult for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability and may require special conditions. An attacker needs basic access or low-level privileges. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a high impact on the confidentiality of the information. There is a high impact on the integrity of the data.

Threat Intelligence
5.9

Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.

EPSS
0.17%

The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.

Exploit
Not available

We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.

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Medium severity
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