Coreutils: heap buffer under-read in gnu coreutils sort via key specification
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2025-5278 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2025-05-27 21:15:23 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-07-21 05:16:33 UTC |
| Description | A flaw was found in GNU Coreutils. The sort utility's begfield() function is vulnerable to a heap buffer under-read. The program may access memory outside the allocated buffer if a user runs a crafted command using the traditional key format. A malicious input could lead to a crash or leak sensitive data. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 4.4 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
EPSS: 0.002240000 probability, percentile 0.131260000 (date 2026-07-21)
Problem Types: CWE-121 | CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 4.4 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 4.4 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
RequiredScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
LowIntegrity
NoneAvailability
LowCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | unaffected 0:9.5-8.el10_2 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | unaffected 0:8.32-41.el9_8 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Cost Management Metrics Operator 4 | unaffected 1783539156 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Discovery 2 | unaffected 1782756541 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Insights Proxy 1.5 | unaffected 1782890503 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Distributed Tracing 3.10.0 | unaffected 1782501180 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Distributed Tracing 3.10.0 | unaffected 1782501200 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Distributed Tracing 3.10.0 | unaffected 1782498923 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Distributed Tracing 3.10.0 | unaffected 1782510941 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Distributed Tracing 3.10.0 | unaffected 1782501220 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Distributed Tracing 3.10.0 | unaffected 1782501196 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Distributed Tracing 3.10.0 | unaffected 1782501195 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Not specified | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33124 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi | [email protected] | debbugs.gnu.org | |
| security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-5278 | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | security-tracker.debian.org | |
| bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi | [email protected] | bugzilla.redhat.com | |
| www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/05/27/2 | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.openwall.com | |
| cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/coreutils.git/commit | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:28911 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:39981 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/05/29/2 | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.openwall.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33612 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:34102 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/coreutils.git/tree/NEWS | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org | |
| www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/05/29/1 | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.openwall.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33313 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-5278 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Red Hat would like to thank Mohamed Maatallah for reporting this issue. (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2025-05-27T13:50:20.148Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| CNA | 2025-05-27T00:00:00.000Z | Made public. |
Workarounds
CNA: Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.