CVE-2021-22212

high

Description

ntpkeygen can generate keys that ntpd fails to parse. NTPsec 1.2.0 allows ntpkeygen to generate keys with '#' characters. ntpd then either pads, shortens the key, or fails to load these keys entirely, depending on the key type and the placement of the '#'. This results in the administrator not being able to use the keys as expected or the keys are shorter than expected and easier to brute-force, possibly resulting in MITM attacks between ntp clients and ntp servers. For short AES128 keys, ntpd generates a warning that it is padding them.

References

Details

Source: Mitre, NVD

Published: 2021-06-08

Updated: 2026-06-17

Risk Information

CVSS v2

Base Score: 5.8

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N

Severity: Medium

CVSS v3

Base Score: 7.4

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Severity: High

EPSS

EPSS: 0.00042