CVE-2022-40735
Using long exponents in the Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol allows remote attackers (from...
The Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol allows use of long exponents that arguably make certain calculations unnecessarily expensive, because the 1996 van Oorschot and Wiener paper found that "(appropriately) short exponents" can be used when there are adequate subgroup constraints, and these short exponents can lead to less expensive calculations than for long exponents. This issue is different from CVE-2002-20001 because it is based on an observation about exponent size, rather than an observation about numbers that are not public keys. The specific situations in which calculation expense would constitute a server-side vulnerability depend on the protocol (e.g., TLS, SSH, or IKE) and the DHE implementation details. In general, there might be an availability concern because of server-side resource consumption from DHE modular-exponentiation calculations. Finally, it is possible for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability and CVE-2002-20001 together.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
7.5
The Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol allows use of long exponents that arguably make certain calculations unnecessarily expensive, because the 1996 van Oorschot and Wiener paper found that "(appropriately) short exponents" can be used when there are adequate subgroup constraints, and these short exponents can lead to less expensive calculations than for long exponents. This issue is different from CVE-2002-20001 because it is based on an observation about exponent size, rather than an observation about numbers that are not public keys. The specific situations in which calculation expense would constitute a server-side vulnerability depend on the protocol (e.g., TLS, SSH, or IKE) and the DHE implementation details. In general, there might be an availability concern because of server-side resource consumption from DHE modular-exponentiation calculations. Finally, it is possible for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability and CVE-2002-20001 together.
- Record
CVE-2022-40735- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
The Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol allows use of long exponents that arguably make certain calculations unnecessarily expensive, because the 1996 van Oorschot and Wiener paper found that "(appropriately) short exponents" can be used when there are adequate subgroup constraints, and these short exponents can lead to less expensive calculations than for long exponents. This issue is different from CVE-2002-20001 because it is based on an observation about exponent size, rather than an observation about numbers that are not public keys. The specific situations in which calculation expense would constitute a server-side vulnerability depend on the protocol (e.g., TLS, SSH, or IKE) and the DHE implementation details. In general, there might be an availability concern because of server-side resource consumption from DHE modular-exponentiation calculations. Finally, it is possible for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability and CVE-2002-20001 together.
- Record
CVE-2022-40735- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-44003 No score
The Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol allows use of long exponents that arguably make certain calculations unnecessarily expensive, because the 1996 van Oorschot and Wiener paper found that "(appropriately) short exponents" can be used when there are adequate subgroup constraints, and these short exponents can lead to less expensive calculations than for long exponents. This issue is different from CVE-2002-20001 because it is based on an observation about exponent size, rather than an observation about numbers that are not public keys. The specific situations in which calculation expense would constitute a server-side vulnerability depend on the protocol (e.g., TLS, SSH, or IKE) and the DHE implementation details. In general, there might be an availability concern because of server-side resource consumption from DHE modular-exponentiation calculations. Finally, it is possible for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability and CVE-2002-20001 together.
- Record
EUVD-2022-44003- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-8vmc-7qrc-q5mx
7.5
Using long exponents in the Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol allows remote attackers (from...
Using long exponents in the Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol allows remote attackers (from the client side) to trigger unnecessarily expensive server-side DHE modular-exponentiation calculations. An attacker may cause asymmetric resource consumption with any common client application which uses a DHE implementation that applies short exponents. The attack may be more disruptive in cases where a client sends arbitrary numbers that are actually not DH public keys (aka the D(HE)ater attack) or can require a server to select its largest supported key size. The basic attack scenario is that the client must claim that it can only communicate with DHE, and the server must be configured to allow DHE. This can affect TLS, SSH, and IKE.
- Record
GHSA-8vmc-7qrc-q5mx- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2022-40735
7.5
The Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol allows use of long exponents that arguably make certain calculations unnecessarily expensive, because the 1996 van Oorschot and Wiener paper found that "(appropriately) short exponents" can be used when there are adequate subgroup constraints, and these short exponents can lead to less expensive calculations than for long exponents. This issue is different from CVE-2002-20001 because it is based on an observation about exponent size, rather than an observation about numbers that are not public keys. The specific situations in which calculation expense would constitute a server-side vulnerability depend on the protocol (e.g., TLS, SSH, or IKE) and the DHE implementation details. In general, there might be an availability concern because of server-side resource consumption from DHE modular-exponentiation calculations. Finally, it is possible for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability and CVE-2002-20001 together.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2022-40735- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2023:2470-1 No score
Security update for openssl-3
This update for openssl-3 fixes the following issues:
-
Update to version 3.0.8 (bsc#1207541).
-
CVE-2022-40735: Fixed remote trigger of expensive server-side DHE modular-exponentiation with long exponents in Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol (bsc#1205476).
-
CVE-2023-1255: Fixed input buffer over-read in AES-XTS implementation on 64 bit ARM (bsc#1210714).
-
CVE-2023-2650: Fixed possible DoS translating ASN.1 object identifiers (bsc#1211430).
- Record
SUSE-SU-2023:2470-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-6854-1 No score
openssl vulnerability
It was discovered that OpenSSL failed to choose an appropriately short private key size when computing shared-secrets in the Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Protocol. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause OpenSSL to consume resources, resulting in a denial of service.
- Record
USN-6854-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
openssl-3SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 From an advisory covering 3 CVEs |
before 3.0.8-150400.4.26.1 | 3.0.8-150400.4.26.1 |
openssl-3openSUSE:Leap 15.4 From an advisory covering 3 CVEs |
before 3.0.8-150400.4.26.1 | 3.0.8-150400.4.26.1 |
opensslUbuntu:22.04:LTS |
before 3.0.2-0ubuntu1.16, plus listed versions 1.1.1l-1ubuntu13.0.0-1ubuntu13.0.1-0ubuntu13.0.2-0ubuntu13.0.2-0ubuntu1.1 Show 12 moreShow less3.0.2-0ubuntu1.23.0.2-0ubuntu1.43.0.2-0ubuntu1.53.0.2-0ubuntu1.63.0.2-0ubuntu1.73.0.2-0ubuntu1.83.0.2-0ubuntu1.93.0.2-0ubuntu1.103.0.2-0ubuntu1.123.0.2-0ubuntu1.133.0.2-0ubuntu1.143.0.2-0ubuntu1.15 |
3.0.2-0ubuntu1.16 |
nodejsUbuntu:Pro:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 12.22.5~dfsg-5ubuntu112.22.7~dfsg-2ubuntu112.22.7~dfsg-2ubuntu312.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu212.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3 Show 7 moreShow less12.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.112.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.212.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.312.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.412.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.512.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.612.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.6+esm2 |
None known |
opensslUbuntu:Pro:FIPS-preview:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.0.2-0ubuntu1.10+Fips13.0.2-0ubuntu1.12+Fips1 |
None known |
opensslUbuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:22.04:LTS |
before 3.0.2-0ubuntu1.16+Fips1, plus listed versions 3.0.2-0ubuntu1.10+Fips13.0.2-0ubuntu1.12+Fips13.0.2-0ubuntu1.14+Fips13.0.2-0ubuntu1.15+Fips1 |
3.0.2-0ubuntu1.16+Fips1 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2022-40735 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Diffie-hellman Key Exchange Project Key Exchange, published November 14, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.63%, the 85th percentile. Fixed in openssl 3.0.2-0ubuntu1.16.
References
github.com/mozilla/ssl-config-generator/issues/162
gist.github.com/c0r0n3r/9455ddcab985c50fd1912eabf26e058b
link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/3-540-68339-9_29.pdf
researchgate.net/profile/Anton-Stiglic-2/publication/2401745_Security_Issues_in_the_Diffie-Hellman_Key_Agreement_Protocol/links/546c144f0cf20dedafd53e7e/Security-Issues-in-the-Diffie-Hellman-Key-Agreement-Protocol.pdf
nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-57pt1r5.pdf
rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4419
Show 19 moreShow less
rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5114
rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7919
raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelist/9d7fbbcabd3f44cfedc9e8807757d31ece85a2c6/2022/40xxx/CVE-2022-40735.json
rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3526
dheatattack.gitlab.io
ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10374117
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-40735
github.com/advisories/GHSA-8vmc-7qrc-q5mx
suse.com/support/update/announcement/2023/suse-su-20232470-1
bugzilla.suse.com/1205476
bugzilla.suse.com/1210714
bugzilla.suse.com/1211430
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-40735
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-1255
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-2650
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-40735
github.com/openssl/openssl/pull/18480
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-40735
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6854-1