HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2015-8803

CRITICAL

CVE-2015-8803

CWE-254Published: February 23, 2016· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

The ecc_256_modp function in ecc-256.c in Nettle before 3.2 does not properly handle carry propagation and produces incorrect output in its implementation of the P-256 NIST elliptic curve, which allows attackers to have unspecified impact via unknown vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-8805.

Technical Analysis

CVE-2015-8803 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability

Attack VectorNetwork

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges Req.None

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Canonical1 product(s)

ubuntu linux

nettle_project1 product(s)

nettle

openSUSE2 product(s)

leapopensuse

Source: NVD CPE · 6 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time

Offensive Security exploit database

GitHub PoC Search

Community PoC repositories

Rapid7 / Metasploit

Metasploit module search

Security advisories & exploits

Official NIST entry

CVE Program entry

External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

PATCHhttps://git.lysator.liu.se/nettle/nettle/commit/c71d2c9d20eeebb985e3872e4550137209e3ce4d

PATCHhttps://git.lysator.liu.se/nettle/nettle/commit/c71d2c9d20eeebb985e3872e4550137209e3ce4d

ADVISORYhttps://lists.lysator.liu.se/pipermail/nettle-bugs/2015/003028.html

ADVISORYhttps://lists.lysator.liu.se/pipermail/nettle-bugs/2015/003028.html

All References (28)

→

http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-February/176807.html

→

http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-February/177229.html

→

http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-February/177473.html

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-02/msg00091.html

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-02/msg00093.html

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-02/msg00100.html

→

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2582.html

→

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/02/02/2

→

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/02/03/1

→

http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2897-1

→

https://blog.fuzzing-project.org/38-Miscomputations-of-elliptic-curve-scalar-multiplications-in-Nettle.html

→

https://git.lysator.liu.se/nettle/nettle/commit/c71d2c9d20eeebb985e3872e4550137209e3ce4dPatch

→

https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnu/2016-01/msg00006.html

→

https://lists.lysator.liu.se/pipermail/nettle-bugs/2015/003028.htmlVendor Advisory

→

http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-February/176807.html

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2015-8803

CVSS Score9.8 / 10

SeverityCRITICAL

WeaknessCWE-254

CISA KEVNo

Affected3 vendor(s)

PublishedFeb 23, 2016

Related CVEs (CWE-254)

Recommended Actions

→Apply vendor patches immediately
→Monitor CVE-2015-8803 in threat intel feeds
→Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts

Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.

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