CVE-2026-5419
Description
A flaw was found in gnutls. The PKCS#7 padding check, performed during decryption, was not constant-time. This timing side-channel could allow a remote attacker to potentially leak sensitive information about the padding bytes through observable timing differences. This vulnerability is a form of information disclosure.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated with a Low severity impact because exploiting timing side-channels in cryptographic operations over a network requires precise measurement capabilities, extensive request volume, and low network jitter. While applications linking against GnuTLS to process encrypted PKCS#7 payloads are exposed to subtle processing time variances, successful extraction of plaintext padding or message content in typical Red Hat environments remains computationally complex and technically difficult to execute reliably.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 3.7 | N/A | 3.7 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | Low |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality,Access Control
Technical Impact: Read Application Data; Bypass Protection Mechanism
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Doria Tang (Stony Brook University) for reporting this issue.
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