potatosalad jose · Observable Timing Discrepancy Vulnerability
Affects joseSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.9 Medium.
Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 22:28 UTC
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 26 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 26.10josepkg:deb/ubuntu/jose?arch=source&distro=stonkingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSjosepkg:deb/ubuntu/jose?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSjosepkg:deb/ubuntu/jose?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 22.04 LTSjosepkg:deb/ubuntu/jose?arch=source&distro=jammyOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 20.04 LTSjosepkg:deb/ubuntu/jose?arch=source&distro=focalOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 18.04 LTSjosepkg:deb/ubuntu/jose?arch=source&distro=bionicOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
Description
Observable Timing Discrepancy vulnerability in potatosalad jose allows recovery of a long-term X25519 private key through a timing side channel in the pure-Erlang Curve25519 fallback. The pure-Erlang X25519 implementation performs scalar multiplication over the secret private key using a recursive Montgomery ladder (jose_jwa_x25519:curve25519/2) whose clauses branch on individual bits of the clamped private scalar, and whose per-step operations (jose_jwa_x25519:montgomery_add/3 and jose_jwa_x25519:montgomery_double/1) and field inversion are built from value-dependent Erlang bignum arithmetic (multiplication, remainder, and modular exponentiation). Although the ladder is operation-count balanced and fixed at 254 steps, the concrete integer values processed at each step, and therefore the running time, depend on the secret scalar. The execution time of the public entry points jose_jwa_x25519:scalarmult/2, jose_jwa_x25519:x25519/2, jose_jwa_x25519:x25519_base/1, and jose_jwa_x25519:sk_to_pk/1 is thus a function of the private key. This path is reachable from the public API, most notably when a service decrypts attacker-supplied ECDH-ES (JWE) messages with a long-term X25519 key (for example through JOSE.JWK.box_decrypt_ecdh_es/2, which reaches jose_jwa_curve25519:x25519_shared_secret/2 and the ladder). An attacker who can submit ciphertexts and measure decryption timing can, in principle, recover the private key bit by bit, defeating the resistance X25519 was designed to provide. Recovery of the key compromises the confidentiality and authenticity of all data protected by it. This issue affects jose: from 1.10.0 before 1.11.13.
References
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-65630 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-65630 (opens in a new tab)
- cna.erlef.org/cves/cve-2026-65630.html (opens in a new tab)
- github.com (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/potatosalad/erlang-jose (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/potatosalad/erlang-jose/commit/3670f873c274bba86fb7f5ee5727a7efa1322b79 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/potatosalad/erlang-jose/commit/8e532095de114ef4bf88a9ec5d651fa251a972b3 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/potatosalad/erlang-jose/security/advisories/ghsa-xvr2-gggj-h2pp (opens in a new tab)
- hex.pm/packages/jose (opens in a new tab)
- repo.hex.pm (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/cveproject/cvelistv5/tree/main/cves/2026/65xxx/cve-2026-65630.json (opens in a new tab)
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/cve-2026-65630 (opens in a new tab)
- osv.dev/vulnerability/eef-cve-2026-65630 (opens in a new tab)