crypto: warn if counter mode used in createCipher

`crypto.createCipher()` sets the fixed IV derived from password and it leads to a security risk of nonce reuse when counter mode is used. A warning is emitted when CTR, GCM or CCM is used in `crypto.createCipher()` to notify users to avoid nonce reuse. Backport-PR-URL: #16583 Fixes: #13801 PR-URL: #13821 Reviewed-By: Ben Noordhuis <[email protected]> Reviewed-By: Fedor Indutny <[email protected]> Reviewed-By: James M Snell <[email protected]> Reviewed-By: Tobias Nießen <[email protected]>
nodejs · Nov 21, 2017 · eed1b1f · eed1b1f
1 parent 148a030
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diff --git a/doc/api/crypto.md b/doc/api/crypto.md
@@ -1102,7 +1102,11 @@ rapidly.
 In line with OpenSSL's recommendation to use pbkdf2 instead of
 [`EVP_BytesToKey`][] it is recommended that developers derive a key and IV on
 their own using [`crypto.pbkdf2()`][] and to use [`crypto.createCipheriv()`][]
-to create the `Cipher` object.
+to create the `Cipher` object. Users should not use ciphers with counter mode
+(e.g. CTR, GCM or CCM) in `crypto.createCipher()`. A warning is emitted when
+they are used in order to avoid the risk of IV reuse that causes
+vulnerabilities. For the case when IV is reused in GCM, see [Nonce-Disrespecting
+Adversaries][] for details.
 
 ### crypto.createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv)
 
@@ -2024,6 +2028,7 @@ the `crypto`, `tls`, and `https` modules and are generally specific to OpenSSL.
 [NIST SP 800-131A]: http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-131Ar1.pdf
 [NIST SP 800-132]: http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-132.pdf
 [OpenSSL cipher list format]: https://www.openssl.org/docs/man1.0.2/apps/ciphers.html#CIPHER-LIST-FORMAT
+[Nonce-Disrespecting Adversaries]: https://github.com/nonce-disrespect/nonce-disrespect
 [OpenSSL's SPKAC implementation]: https://www.openssl.org/docs/man1.0.2/apps/spkac.html
 [publicly trusted list of CAs]: https://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla/source/security/nss/lib/ckfw/builtins/certdata.txt
 [RFC 2412]: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2412.txt

diff --git a/src/node_crypto.cc b/src/node_crypto.cc
@@ -3351,6 +3351,14 @@ void CipherBase::Init(const char* cipher_type,
   EVP_CIPHER_CTX_init(&ctx_);
   const bool encrypt = (kind_ == kCipher);
   EVP_CipherInit_ex(&ctx_, cipher_, nullptr, nullptr, nullptr, encrypt);
+
+  int mode = EVP_CIPHER_CTX_mode(&ctx_);
+  if (encrypt && (mode == EVP_CIPH_CTR_MODE || mode == EVP_CIPH_GCM_MODE ||
+      mode == EVP_CIPH_CCM_MODE)) {
+    ProcessEmitWarning(env(), "Use Cipheriv for counter mode of %s",
+                       cipher_type);
+  }
+
   if (!EVP_CIPHER_CTX_set_key_length(&ctx_, key_len)) {
     EVP_CIPHER_CTX_cleanup(&ctx_);
     return env()->ThrowError("Invalid key length");

diff --git a/test/parallel/test-crypto-cipher-decipher.js b/test/parallel/test-crypto-cipher-decipher.js
@@ -148,3 +148,7 @@ testCipher2(Buffer.from('0123456789abcdef'));
   assert.strictEqual(decipher.setAuthTag(tagbuf), decipher);
   assert.strictEqual(decipher.setAAD(aadbuf), decipher);
 }
+
+// https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/13801
+common.expectWarning('Warning', 'Use Cipheriv for counter mode of aes-256-gcm');
+crypto.createCipher('aes-256-gcm', '0123456789');