Side Channel Vulnerability: Power Consumption Analysis of SHIFT BitBox02's Row-Based OLED Display

CVE-2019-18673 · MEDIUM Severity

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

On SHIFT BitBox02 devices, a side channel for the row-based OLED display was found. The power consumption of each row-based display cycle depends on the number of illuminated pixels, allowing a partial recovery of display contents. For example, a hardware implant in the USB cable might be able to leverage this behavior to recover confidential secrets such as the PIN and BIP39 mnemonic. Note: BIP39 secrets are not displayed by default on this device. The side channel is relevant only if the attacker has enough control over the device's USB connection to make power-consumption measurements at a time when secret data is displayed. The side channel is not relevant in other circumstances, such as a stolen device that is not currently displaying secret data.

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