this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2024
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YubiKeys are vulnerable to cloning attacks thanks to newly discovered side channel (arstechnica.com)
submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The attacker would need physical possession of the YubiKey, Security Key, or YubiHSM, knowledge of the accounts they want to target and specialized equipment to perform the necessary attack. Depending on the use case, the attacker may also require additional knowledge including username, PIN, account password, or authentication key.

Meh, doesn't seem that realistic of an attack yet, but I know that could change.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

To be fair given some of the places and things YubiKeys protect, especially local government, finance, hospitals, and the like, this is one of the cases where a physical attack isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. I’m not cloning a Yubikey with specialized kit to break into a small business, but if it plus a password lets me log in as an accountant at an bank or investment firm on the target’s day off, well then it might be worth it for an attacker.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I was thinking that when I wrote the comment, and aimed it at people working for a smaller company or using it in their personal life, I should have been clear on this.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

All they would have to do to mitigate the threat is buy new keys. The vulnerability doesn't exist in their keys since May.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This only affects devices with firmware 5.6 and below—anything before May 2024. If you buy a key now, the vulnerability will be patched.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Good to know!