Vulnerability · Published Dec 5, 2025 · Assigned by canonical
CVE-2025-6966Null-pointer dereference in python-apt TagSection.keys()
Medium 6.9
In plain English
A medium-severity null pointer dereference in python-apt from Canonical. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 5% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Severity (CVSS 4.0)6.9Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 95.3% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known
Official description
NULL pointer dereference in TagSection.keys() in python-apt on APT-based Linux systems allows a local attacker to cause a denial of service (process crash) via a crafted deb822 file with a malformed non-UTF-8 key.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | python-apt | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2025-6966 |
| Debian:13 | python-apt | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2025-6966 |
| Debian:14 | python-apt | 3.1.0 | DEBIAN-CVE-2025-6966 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | python-apt | 2.4.0ubuntu4.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2025-6966 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | python-apt | 2.7.7ubuntu5.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2025-6966 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | python-apt | 3.0.0ubuntu1.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2025-6966 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Canonical | python-apt | 3.0 – before 3.0.0ubuntu1.13.0 – before 3.0.0ubuntu0.25.04.12.7 – before 2.7.7ubuntu5.12.4 – before 2.4.0ubuntu4.12.0 – before 2.0.1ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm11.6 – before 1.6.6ubuntu0.1~esm11.1 – before 1.1.0~beta1ubuntu0.16.04.12+esm10 – before 0.9.3.5ubuntu3+esm5 |
Weakness: CWE-476 · Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N