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GHSA-v83q-83hj-rw38

ntpd NTS client denial of service via wrongly sized cookies

5.3 MediumFix available

Two denial of service vulnerabilities were found in ntpd-rs related to the handling of NTS cookies in our client functionality. Whenever an NTS source is configured and the server behind that source is sending zero-sized cookies or cookies larger than what would fit in our buffer size, ntpd-rs would crash. Only configured NTS sources can abuse these vulnerabilities. NTP sources or third parties that are not configured cannot make use of these vulnerabilities.

For zero-sized cookies: a division by zero would force an exit when the number of new cookies that would need to be requested is calculated. In ntpd-rs 1.5.0 a check was added to prevent the division by zero.

For large cookies: while trying to send a NTP request with the cookie included, the buffer is too small to handle the cookie and an exit of ntpd-rs is forced once a write to the buffer is attempted. The memory outside the buffer would not be written to in this case. In ntpd-rs 1.5.0 a check was added that prevents accepting cookies larger than 350 bytes.

Users of older versions of ntpd-rs are recommended to update to the latest version. If an update is impossible, it is recommended to only add NTS sources to ntpd-rs that are trusted to not abuse this bug.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
Passive

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

What each source reports

GitHub Advisories Score used5.3

ntpd NTS client denial of service via wrongly sized cookies

Two denial of service vulnerabilities were found in ntpd-rs related to the handling of NTS cookies in our client functionality. Whenever an NTS source is configured and the server behind that source is sending zero-sized cookies or cookies larger than what would fit in our buffer size, ntpd-rs would crash. Only configured NTS sources can abuse these vulnerabilities. NTP sources or third parties that are not configured cannot make use of these vulnerabilities.

For zero-sized cookies: a division by zero would force an exit when the number of new cookies that would need to be requested is calculated. In ntpd-rs 1.5.0 a check was added to prevent the division by zero.

For large cookies: while trying to send a NTP request with the cookie included, the buffer is too small to handle the cookie and an exit of ntpd-rs is forced once a write to the buffer is attempted. The memory outside the buffer would not be written to in this case. In ntpd-rs 1.5.0 a check was added that prevents accepting cookies larger than 350 bytes.

Users of older versions of ntpd-rs are recommended to update to the latest version. If an update is impossible, it is recommended to only add NTS sources to ntpd-rs that are trusted to not abuse this bug.

Record
GHSA-v83q-83hj-rw38
CVSS 4.0
5.3 MediumCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weakness
CWE-369, CWE-703
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV5.3

ntpd NTS client denial of service via wrongly sized cookies

Two denial of service vulnerabilities were found in ntpd-rs related to the handling of NTS cookies in our client functionality. Whenever an NTS source is configured and the server behind that source is sending zero-sized cookies or cookies larger than what would fit in our buffer size, ntpd-rs would crash. Only configured NTS sources can abuse these vulnerabilities. NTP sources or third parties that are not configured cannot make use of these vulnerabilities.

For zero-sized cookies: a division by zero would force an exit when the number of new cookies that would need to be requested is calculated. In ntpd-rs 1.5.0 a check was added to prevent the division by zero.

For large cookies: while trying to send a NTP request with the cookie included, the buffer is too small to handle the cookie and an exit of ntpd-rs is forced once a write to the buffer is attempted. The memory outside the buffer would not be written to in this case. In ntpd-rs 1.5.0 a check was added that prevents accepting cookies larger than 350 bytes.

Users of older versions of ntpd-rs are recommended to update to the latest version. If an update is impossible, it is recommended to only add NTS sources to ntpd-rs that are trusted to not abuse this bug.

Record
GHSA-v83q-83hj-rw38
CVSS 4.0
5.3 MediumCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weakness
CWE-369, CWE-703
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
ntpd
crates.io
before 1.5.0
1.5.0

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
first indexedGitHub Advisories, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

GHSA-v83q-83hj-rw38 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.3) in ntpd, published February 28, 2025. No source lists public exploit code. Fixed in ntpd 1.5.0.

References

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