Vulnerability · Published Jan 26, 2026 · Assigned by redhat
CVE-2025-9820Gnutls: stack-based buffer overflow in gnutls_pkcs11_token_init() function
Medium 4.0
In plain English
A medium-severity stack buffer overflow in gnutls. 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 13% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
A flaw was found in the GnuTLS library, specifically in the gnutls_pkcs11_token_init() function that handles PKCS#11 token initialization. When a token label longer than expected is processed, the function writes past the end of a fixed-size stack buffer. This programming error can cause the application using GnuTLS to crash or, in certain conditions, be exploited for code execution. As a result, systems or applications relying on GnuTLS may be vulnerable to a denial of service or local privilege escalation attacks.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux:10 | gnutls | 3.8.10-3.el10_1 | ALSA-2026:3477 |
| AlmaLinux:8 | gnutls | 3.6.16-8.el8_10.5 | ALSA-2026:5585 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | gnutls | 3.8.3-10.el9_7 | ALSA-2026:4188 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | gnutls-c++ | 3.8.10-3.el10_1 | ALSA-2026:3477 |
| AlmaLinux:8 | gnutls-c++ | 3.6.16-8.el8_10.5 | ALSA-2026:5585 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | gnutls-c++ | 3.8.3-10.el9_7 | ALSA-2026:4188 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | gnutls-dane | 3.8.10-3.el10_1 | ALSA-2026:3477 |
| AlmaLinux:8 | gnutls-dane | 3.6.16-8.el8_10.5 | ALSA-2026:5585 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | gnutls-dane | 3.8.3-10.el9_7 | ALSA-2026:4188 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | gnutls-devel | 3.8.10-3.el10_1 | ALSA-2026:3477 |
| AlmaLinux:8 | gnutls-devel | 3.6.16-8.el8_10.5 | ALSA-2026:5585 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | gnutls-devel | 3.8.3-10.el9_7 | ALSA-2026:4188 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | gnutls-fips | 3.8.10-3.el10_1 | ALSA-2026:3477 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | gnutls-utils | 3.8.10-3.el10_1 | ALSA-2026:3477 |
| AlmaLinux:8 | gnutls-utils | 3.6.16-8.el8_10.5 | ALSA-2026:5585 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | gnutls-utils | 3.8.3-10.el9_7 | ALSA-2026:4188 |
| Alpine:v3.20 | gnutls | 3.8.12-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Alpine:v3.21 | gnutls | 3.8.12-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Alpine:v3.22 | gnutls | 3.8.12-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Alpine:v3.23 | gnutls | 3.8.11-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Alpine:v3.24 | gnutls | 3.8.11-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Debian:12 | gnutls28 | 3.7.9-2+deb12u6 | DEBIAN-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Debian:13 | gnutls28 | 3.8.9-3+deb13u1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Debian:14 | gnutls28 | 3.8.11-3 | DEBIAN-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Rocky Linux:10 | gnutls | 0:3.8.10-3.el10_1 | RLSA-2026:3477 |
| Rocky Linux:8 | gnutls | 0:3.6.16-8.el8_10.5 | RLSA-2026:5585 |
| Rocky Linux:9 | gnutls | 0:3.8.3-10.el9_7 | RLSA-2026:4188 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | gnutls28 | 3.7.3-4ubuntu1.8 | USN-8043-1 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | gnutls28 | 3.7.3-4ubuntu1.8 | UBUNTU-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | gnutls28 | 3.8.3-1.1ubuntu3.5 | UBUNTU-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | gnutls28 | 3.8.3-1.1ubuntu3.5 | USN-8043-1 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | gnutls28 | 3.8.9-3ubuntu2.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2025-9820 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | gnutls28 | 3.8.9-3ubuntu2.1 | USN-8043-1 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-121 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
References
- RHSA-2026:13812 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:3477 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:4188 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:4655 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:4943 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:5585 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:5606 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:7329 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:7477 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:82347 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:82354 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:82372 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2026:82857 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-9820 vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2392528 issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://gitlab.com/gnutls/gnutls/-/commit/1d56f96f6ab5034d677136b9d50b5a75dff0faf5
- https://gitlab.com/gnutls/gnutls/-/issues/1732
- https://www.gnutls.org/security-new.html#GNUTLS-SA-2025-11-18
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/11/20/2
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-032379.html