GHSA-g5vh-55hw-rxm8
GoFiber Vulnerable to Username Enumeration via Timing Oracle in BasicAuth Default Authorizer
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3 | < 3.3.0 | 3.3.0 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
## Summary
The default `Authorizer` function in GoFiber's BasicAuth middleware uses short-circuit evaluation that skips password hash comparison for non-existent usernames. With bcrypt-hashed passwords (the primary use case), the timing difference between a valid and invalid username is approximately 1,000,000:1 (~100ms vs ~100ns), enabling reliable remote username enumeration.
## Vulnerable Code
**File:** `middleware/basicauth/config.go`, lines 126-138
```go
if cfg.Authorizer == nil {
verifiers := make(map[string]func(string) bool, len(cfg.Users))
for u, hpw := range cfg.Users {
v, err := parseHashedPassword(hpw)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
verifiers[u] = v
}
cfg.Authorizer = func(user, pass string, _ fiber.Ctx) bool {
verify, ok := verifiers[user]
return ok && verify(pass) // line 137: short-circuit skips verify() if user unknown
}
}
```
## Data Flow
1. Attacker sends `Authorization: Basic <base64(candidate:wrongpass)>`
2. BasicAuth middleware decodes credentials and calls `cfg.Authorizer(user, pass, c)`
3. Map lookup `verifiers[user]` returns `ok=false` for non-existent users
4. Go `&&` short-circuit: `false && verify(pass)` returns immediately without calling `verify()`
5. For valid users, `verify(pass)` executes `bcrypt.CompareHashAndPassword()` (line 167: ~100ms at default cost 10)
6. Timing difference: ~100ns (invalid user) vs ~100ms (valid user) = 1,000,000:1 ratio
**Timing comparison by hash type:**
| Hash Type | Valid User | Invalid User | Ratio |
|-----------|-----------|--------------|-------|
| bcrypt ($2) | ~100 ms | ~100 ns | 1,000,000:1 |
| SHA-512 | ~1-5 us | ~100 ns | 10-50:1 |
| SHA-256 | ~1-5 us | ~100 ns | 10-50:1 |
## Impact
- **Username enumeration:** Attacker reliably determines which usernames exist by measuring response latency
- **Targeted brute force:** After enumerating valid usernames, password brute force is focused only on real accounts
- **Account discovery:** In applications where usernames are sensitive (internal tools, admin panels), leaking their existence is itself a security issue
## Notes
- Password hash comparisons themselves are timing-safe: `subtle.ConstantTimeCompare` is used correctly for SHA-256 (line 185), SHA-512 (line 176), and bcrypt uses its own constant-time comparison
- The fix is to always execute a dummy hash comparison for unknown users: `bcrypt.CompareHashAndPassword(dummyHash, []byte(pass))` and discard the result
- This pattern matches CVE-2023-36456 (Authentik timing oracle) and similar findings in other auth libraries
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.