CVE-2024-42461 identifies a vulnerability in the Elliptic cryptographic library version 6.5.6 used in Node.js environments. The issue arises from the library's acceptance of BER-encoded ECDSA signatures, which introduces signature malleability. Signature malleability means that an attacker can produce multiple distinct signatures that are all valid for the same message and key, potentially allowing replay or transaction manipulation attacks in systems relying on signature uniqueness for security guarantees. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-347, which relates to improper verification of cryptographic signatures. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) indicates that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication or user interaction, with low attack complexity, and impacts confidentiality slightly but not integrity or availability. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the flaw could undermine trust in cryptographic operations, especially in blockchain, digital signature verification, or authentication systems that depend on the Elliptic package. The lack of a patch link suggests that a fix may not yet be publicly available, emphasizing the need for proactive mitigation. This vulnerability highlights the importance of strict signature format validation and the risks of accepting multiple encoding formats that can lead to malleability.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-42461 lies in the potential undermining of cryptographic signature integrity. Systems that rely on the Elliptic package for ECDSA signature verification—such as blockchain platforms, secure messaging, authentication services, or digital transaction systems—may be vulnerable to signature malleability attacks. This could allow attackers to create alternative valid signatures, potentially enabling replay attacks, transaction fraud, or bypassing signature-based non-repudiation mechanisms. While confidentiality and availability are not directly affected, the integrity of critical cryptographic operations is weakened. This can erode trust in digital signatures and complicate forensic or audit processes. European financial institutions, technology companies, and public sector entities using Node.js with Elliptic for cryptographic functions should be particularly vigilant. The medium severity rating suggests that while the threat is not immediately critical, it poses a meaningful risk that could be exploited in targeted attacks or combined with other vulnerabilities to escalate impact.

To mitigate CVE-2024-42461, European organizations should: 1) Monitor the Elliptic package repository and Node.js security advisories for official patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 2) In the interim, implement strict validation of ECDSA signatures to reject BER-encoded signatures and accept only DER-encoded signatures, which are less susceptible to malleability. 3) Audit all cryptographic operations in applications using the Elliptic package to identify and remediate any reliance on signature uniqueness assumptions that could be compromised. 4) Employ additional cryptographic safeguards such as transaction nonces or timestamps to mitigate replay risks. 5) Conduct code reviews and penetration testing focused on signature handling to detect potential exploitation paths. 6) Educate development teams about signature malleability risks and secure coding practices related to cryptographic verification. 7) Consider using alternative, well-maintained cryptographic libraries with robust signature validation if immediate patching is not feasible. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on signature format enforcement and operational controls to reduce exploitation likelihood.