DROWNlike

DROWNlike refers to a class of vulnerabilities that exploit weaknesses in TLS/SSL implementations, similar in principle to the DROWN (Decrypting RSA with Obsolete and Weakened Encryption) attack. These vulnerabilities typically arise when systems support older, less secure cryptographic protocols alongside newer, more robust ones, and can be exploited under specific circumstances.

The core of a DROWNlike attack often involves leveraging the fact that a server might be susceptible to attacks against older SSLv2 or SSLv3 protocols, even if it primarily uses TLSv1.2 or TLSv1.3 for modern connections. This can occur if the server shares private keys between its TLS/SSL endpoints and older, less secure SSL endpoints. An attacker could then craft specific packets targeting the weaker protocol, and if successful, use information derived from these weaker connections to decrypt traffic from the stronger TLS connections that share the same private key.

While DROWN itself specifically targeted RSA private keys used with SSLv2, DROWNlike attacks can encompass similar cross-protocol or cross-implementation weaknesses that allow for the decryption or manipulation of secure communication channels by exploiting a less secure counterpart. Mitigation strategies typically involve disabling support for outdated and insecure SSL/TLS versions, ensuring that private keys are not shared across different protocol versions, and regularly updating cryptographic libraries and server configurations.