Re: [PATCH 5.10] crypto: ecdh - explicitly zeroize private_key
From: Greg KH
Date: Sat Oct 31 2026 - 07:01:41 EST
On Fri, Sep 11, 2026 at 03:31:37PM +0300, Roman Demidov wrote:
> From: Joachim Vandersmissen <git@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> commit 73e5984e540a76a2ee1868b91590c922da8c24c9 upstream.
>
> private_key is overwritten with the key parameter passed in by the
> caller (if present), or alternatively a newly generated private key.
> However, it is possible that the caller provides a key (or the newly
> generated key) which is shorter than the previous key. In that
> scenario, some key material from the previous key would not be
> overwritten. The easiest solution is to explicitly zeroize the entire
> private_key array first.
>
> Note that this patch slightly changes the behavior of this function:
> previously, if the ecc_gen_privkey failed, the old private_key would
> remain. Now, the private_key is always zeroized. This behavior is
> consistent with the case where params.key is set and ecc_is_key_valid
> fails.
>
> Signed-off-by: Joachim Vandersmissen <git@xxxxxxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Herbert Xu <herbert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> [ Roman: The zeroing is performed before ecdh_supported_curve() which is
> not present in upstream but this does not change the fix's logic. ]
> Signed-off-by: Roman Demidov <roman.demidov.nn@xxxxxxxxx>
> ---
> Backport fix for BDU:2025-00987
>
> crypto/ecdh.c | 2 ++
> 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)
>
> diff --git a/crypto/ecdh.c b/crypto/ecdh.c
> index 96f80c8f8e30..2e7acfc42155 100644
> --- a/crypto/ecdh.c
> +++ b/crypto/ecdh.c
> @@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ static int ecdh_set_secret(struct crypto_kpp *tfm, const void *buf,
> params.key_size > sizeof(ctx->private_key))
> return -EINVAL;
>
> + memset(ctx->private_key, 0, sizeof(ctx->private_key));
> +
> ndigits = ecdh_supported_curve(params.curve_id);
> if (!ndigits)
> return -EINVAL;
> --
> 2.53.0
>
>
Does not apply to 5.10.y :(