GHSA-3wfh-36rx-9537

### Impact

A timing attack vulnerability exists in the SCRAM Java implementation. The issue arises because `Arrays.equals` was used to compare secret values such as client proofs and server signatures. Since `Arrays.equals` performs a short-circuit comparison, the execution time varies depending on how many leading bytes match. This behavior could allow an attacker to perform a timing side-channel attack and potentially infer sensitive authentication material. All users relying on SCRAM authentication are impacted.

### Patches

This vulnerability has been patched by replacing `Arrays.equals` with `MessageDigest.isEqual`, which ensures constant-time comparison.

Users should upgrade to version **3.2** or later to mitigate this issue.

### Workarounds

Because the attack requires high precision and repeated attempts, the risk is limited, but the only reliable mitigation is to upgrade to a patched release (version 3.2 or later).

### References

- [Java `MessageDigest.isEqual` Documentation](https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/25/docs/api/java.base/java/security/MessageDigest.html#isEqual(byte[],byte[]))