TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384
Breakdown of the TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 cipher suite
Cyber Security Rating for TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 - D
B
Key Exchange Mechanism
Static Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman (ECDH) does not use ephemeral (temporary) keys, meaning it violates perfect forward secrecy. ECDHE should be used in preference.
A
Authentication
RSA as an authentication mechanism in cipher suites is secure because it relies on the difficulty of factoring large prime numbers. This makes it computationally infeasible for attackers to derive the private key from the public key, ensuring confidentiality and integrity in secure communications.
A
Cipher
AES should be used in cipher suites because it offers strong security with efficient performance, large block size (128 bits), and resistance to known attacks. Its widespread adoption and thorough analysis by the cryptographic community ensure reliability and robustness for encrypting sensitive data.
A
Hash
Improving greatly from SHA1, SHA-256 and above create secure hashes through robust cryptographic algorithms that ensure collision resistance and preimage resistance. They process input data in fixed-size blocks, applying complex mathematical transformations that make it computationally impractical to reverse-engineer the original data from its hash.
D
Cipher Mode
Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) mode is vulnerable to the Lucky13 and POODLE (in TLS v1.2 and below) attacks. The Lucky13 attack exploits timing discrepancies in padding validation, allowing attackers to gradually reveal plaintext. The POODLE attack leverages padding errors to decrypt ciphertext by repeatedly modifying and sending it to the server, observing the error responses. These vulnerabilities arise from CBC's handling of padding and error messages, making it less secure than modern encryption modes like Galois/Counter Mode (GCM), which offer stronger integrity and confidentiality guarantees.
Web infrastructure owners must ensure they only allow secure cipher suites to protect against potential security threats. Cipher suites determine the encryption algorithms and key exchange mechanisms used in HTTPS connections. Insecure cipher suites can leave data vulnerable to interception, decryption, and manipulation by malicious actors. By restricting to secure cipher suites, owners mitigate risks such as data breaches, unauthorized access, and compromise of sensitive information. This proactive measure helps maintain trust with users, ensures compliance with security standards, and safeguards the integrity and confidentiality of data transmitted over the web.
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