IJ10136: IBMPKCS11IMPL - INTERMITTENT ERROR WITH SECP521R1 SIG ON Z/OS AND Z/LINUX

APAR status

• Closed as program error.

Error description

• Error Message: An intermittent exception is seen by the
  IBMPKCS11Impl provider on the z/OS  and z/Linux platforms when
  attempting to verify an ECDSA signature based upon the secp521r1
  curve.  The exception is:
  com.ibm.pkcs11.PKCS11Exception: Signature length is out of range
  .
  Stack Trace: com.ibm.pkcs11.PKCS11Exception: Signature length is
  out of range
          at com.ibm.pkcs11.nat.NativePKCS11Session.verify(Native
  Method)
          at
  com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11impl.provider.Session.verify(Session.java:5
  30)
          at
  com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11impl.provider.Signature.engineVerify(Signat
  ure.java:532)
          at
  com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11impl.provider.GeneralSignature.engineVerify
  (GeneralSignature.java:523)
          at
  java.security.Signature$Delegate.engineVerify(Signature.java:123
  0)
          at java.security.Signature.verify(Signature.java:661)
          at ecdsa.testDataECDSA213(ecdsa.java:79)
          at ecdsa.main(ecdsa.java:38)
  .
  

Local fix

Problem summary

• An intermittent exception is seen by the IBMPKCS11Impl provider
  on the z/OS and z/Linux platforms when attempting to verify an
  ECDSA signature based upon the secp521r1 curve.  The exception
  seen is:
  com.ibm.pkcs11.PKCS11Exception: Signature length is out of range
          at com.ibm.pkcs11.nat.NativePKCS11Session.verify(Native
  Method)
          at
  com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11impl.provider.Session.verify(Session.java:5
  30)
          at
  com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11impl.provider.Signature.engineVerify(Signat
  ure.java:532)
          at
  com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11impl.provider.GeneralSignature.engineVerify
  (GeneralSignature.java:523)
          at
  java.security.Signature$Delegate.engineVerify(Signature.java:123
  0)
          at java.security.Signature.verify(Signature.java:661)
          at ecdsa.testDataECDSA213(ecdsa.java:79)
          at ecdsa.main(ecdsa.java:38)
  This error was introduced by an update made for a Security
  Bulletin which updated the Signature.asn1ToECDSA() method.  The
  updated method now trims leading zeroes from the "r" and "s"
  values of an ECDSA signature prior to signature verification by
  the crypto hardware.  The crypto hardware used on System z
  appears unable to handle the length of the data buffer allocated
  to hold the trimmed signature.
  This exception has not been seen with the IBMPKCS11Impl provider
  when using either SafeNet or Thales crypto hardware.
  

Problem conclusion

• A fix has been applied to the Signature.asn1toECDSA( ) method of
  the IBMPKCS11Impl provider, for the z/OS and z/Linux platforms
  only, to ensure that the length of the signature being verified
  will be acceptable to the System z crypto hardware.
  .
  This APAR will be fixed in the following Java Releases:
     8    SR5 FP25  (8.0.5.25)
     7    SR10 FP35 (7.0.10.35)
     7 R1 SR4 FP35  (7.1.4.35)
  .
  Contact your IBM Product's Service Team for these Service
  Refreshes and Fix Packs.
  For those running stand-alone, information about the available
  Service Refreshes and Fix Packs can be found at:
             https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/jdk/
  

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

• APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

• APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Fix information

• Fixed component name

  SECURITY

• Fixed component ID

  620700125

Applicable component levels