The POODLE flaw returns, this time hitting TLS security protocol

Webmasters who patched their sites against a serious SSL flaw discovered in October will have to check them again. Researchers have discovered that the vulnerability also affects implementations of the newer TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol.

The POODLE (Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption) vulnerability allows attackers who manage to intercept traffic between a user’s browser and an HTTPS (HTTP Secure) website to decrypt sensitive information, like the user’s authentication cookies.

Initially, researchers believed it affected only SSL 3.0, an aging protocol superseded by TLS 1.0, 1.1. and 1.2. That still put users at risk, since most browsers and servers still supported SSL 3.0 for backward-compatibility reasons. Attackers were able to force a connection downgrade from TLS to SSL and then exploit the vulnerability.

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