GHSA-jp26-88mw-89qr
sigstore-java has a vulnerability with bundle verification
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
dev.sigstore:sigstore-javaReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
sigstore-java has insufficient verification for a situation where a bundle provides a invalid signature for a checkpoint.
Impact
This bug impacts clients using any variation of KeylessVerifier.verify()
Currently checkpoints are only used to ensure the root hash of an inclusion proof was provided by the log in question. Failing to validate that means a bundle may provide an inclusion proof that doesn't actually correspond to the log in question. This may eventually lead a monitor/witness being unable to detect when a compromised logs are providing different views of themselves to different clients.
There are other mechanisms right now that mitigate this, such as the signed entry timestamp. Sigstore-java currently requires a valid signed entry timestamp. By correctly verifying the signed entry timestamp we can make certain assertions about the log signing the log entry (like the log was aware of the artifact signing event and signed it). Therefore the impact on clients that are not monitors/witnesses is very low.
All cryptographic materials and identity information in the bundle must still be verified for the verification to pass. A valid signed entry timestamp is still required for verification to pass.
sigstore-gradle-plugin and sigstore-maven-plugin are not affected by this as they only provide signing functionality.
Steps To Reproduce
Build the java sigstore-cli at v1.1.0
git clone --branch v1.1.0 [email protected]:sigstore/sigstore-java
cd sigstore-java
./gradlew :sigstore-cli:build
tar -xf sigstore-cli/build/distributions/sigstore-cli-1.1.0-SNAPSHOT.tar --strip-components 1
Create some random blob and sign it
dd bs=1 count=50 </dev/urandom > blob
./bin/sigstore-cli sign --bundle=blob.sigstore.json blob
Modify the checkpoint signature on the bundle, this is the last base64 section in the checkpoint, the following diff just swaps changes the last 3 base64 characters to aaa.
"checkpoint": {
+ "envelope": "rekor.sigstore.dev - 1193050959916656506\n29874050\nhnEOPEa6SDzqJDydU+J96TQyfYfqEpsGg0aVbmfjWDw\u003d\n\n— rekor.sigstore.dev wNI9ajBFAiEA4M7t/9b42FzeArRhC6oRvs7UvKwklaFLYfDDGTi2R4kCIBNc2d0VCyUbs3hd+bI7+0RHhvLOdAqYg7j/3xPe2ZPb\n"
- "envelope": "rekor.sigstore.dev - 1193050959916656506\n29874050\nhnEOPEa6SDzqJDydU+J96TQyfYfqEpsGg0aVbmfjWDw\u003d\n\n— rekor.sigstore.dev wNI9ajBFAiEA4M7t/9b42FzeArRhC6oRvs7UvKwklaFLYfDDGTi2R4kCIBNc2d0VCyUbs3hd+bI7+0RHhvLOdAqYg7j/3xPe2aaa\n"
}
./bin/sigstore-cli verify --bundle=blob.sigstore.json blob
# no errors???!
Patches
Patched in v1.2.0 release (patch: https://github.com/sigstore/sigstore-java/commit/23fb4885e6704a5df4977f7acf253a745349edf9) Conformance tests added https://github.com/sigstore/sigstore-conformance/pull/139
Workarounds
Verifiers may chose to verify the checkpoint manually after running KeylessVerifier.verify()
var bundle = Bundle.from(bundleFile, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
var entry = bundle.getEntries().get(0);
var checkpoint = entry.getVerification().getInclusionProof().parsedCheckpoint();
var signedData = Splitter.on("\n\n").splitToList(entry.getVerification().getInclusionProof().getCheckpoint()).get(0) + "\n";
var tufClient = SigstoreTufClient.builder().usePublicGoodInstance().build();
tufClient.update();
var trustedRoot = tufClient.getSigstoreTrustedRoot();
var tlog = TransparencyLog.find(trustedRoot.getTLogs(), Hex.decode(entry.getLogID()), entry.getIntegratedTimeInstant());
if (!Verifiers.newVerifier(tlog.get().getPublicKey().toJavaPublicKey()).verify(signedData.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8), checkpoint.getSignatures().get(0).getSignature())) {
throw new Exception("Checkpoint signature was invalid");
}
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | dev.sigstore:sigstore-java | all versions | 1.2.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for dev.sigstore:sigstore-java. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update dev.sigstore:sigstore-java to 1.2.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-jp26-88mw-89qr is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-jp26-88mw-89qr is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-jp26-88mw-89qr. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-jp26-88mw-89qr in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-jp26-88mw-89qr across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.