aws / aws/aws-encryption-sdk-python

deserialize encryption context should fail on malformed encryption context

Open
#57 2 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
bug good first issue
Dominant language
Python
Stars
255
Forks
92
Avg merge
2d 17h
Merged PRs (30d)
2

Description

If the client deserialization receives a malformed ciphertext that defines the AAD length as 0 and then also defines a AAD fields as 0, the deserialization logic SHOULD raise an error. It does not. Instead, it accidentally interprets it as an empty encryption context.

https://github.com/awslabs/aws-encryption-sdk-python/blob/master/src/aws_encryption_sdk/internal/formatting/encryption_context.py#L159-L164

Example malformed test vector:
```
b'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'
```

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Inspect src/aws_encryption_sdk/internal/formatting/encryption_context.py at lines 159-164 and reproduce the issue with the malformed ciphertext in the report. Add a regression test for the zero-length AAD and zero-field case, then ensure client deserialization raises an error instead of returning an empty encryption context.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
cryptography
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
55/100

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