Description
GnuPG 1.x before 1.4.16 generates RSA keys using sequences of introductions with certain patterns that introduce a side channel, which allows physically proximate attackers to extract RSA keys via a chosen-ciphertext attack and acoustic cryptanalysis during decryption. NOTE: applications are not typically expected to protect themselves from acoustic side-channel attacks, since this is arguably the responsibility of the physical device. Accordingly, issues of this type would not normally receive a CVE identifier. However, for this issue, the developer has specified a security policy in which GnuPG should offer side-channel resistance, and developer-specified security-policy violations are within the scope of CVE.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 7 | gnupg | 1.4.12-7+deb7u3 | DSA-2821-1 |
| Debian 6.0 | gnupg | 1.4.10-4+squeeze4 | DSA-2821-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | gnupg | 1.4.5-18.el5_10.1 | RHSA-2014:0016 |
Advisories 2
- RHSA-2014:0016 Red Hat Security Advisory: gnupg security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-2821-1 gnupg - side channel attack Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- 64424 vdb-entry
- USN-2059-1 vendor-advisory
- 101170 vdb-entry
- [gnupg-devel] 20131218 [Announce] [security fix] GnuPG 1.4.16 released mailing-list
- RHSA-2014:0016 vendor-advisory
- 1029513 vdb-entry
- gunpg-cve20134576-info-disclosure(89846) vdb-entry
- DSA-2821 vendor-advisory
- http://www.tau.ac.il/~tromer/papers/acoustic-20131218.pdf
- [oss-security] 20131218 Re: GnuPG 1.4.16 fixes RSA key extraction via acoustic side channel (CVE-2013-4576) mailing-list
- http://www.cs.tau.ac.il/~tromer/acoustic/
- [oss-security] 20131218 GnuPG 1.4.16 fixes RSA key extraction via acoustic side channel (CVE-2013-4576) mailing-list