CVE-2025-5278
Coreutils: heap buffer under-read in gnu coreutils sort via key specification
CVSS Score
4.4
EPSS Score
0.0%
EPSS Percentile
0th
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.
| CWE | CWE-121 |
| Published | May 27, 2025 |
| Last Updated | Jan 22, 2026 |
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CVSS v3 Breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
Low
Affected Versions
Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
All versions affected Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
All versions affected Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
All versions affected Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
All versions affected Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
All versions affected Red Hat / Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
All versions affected References
access.redhat.com: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-5278 bugzilla.redhat.com: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2368764 cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org: https://cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/coreutils.git/commit/?id=8c9602e3a145e9596dc1a63c6ed67865814b6633 openwall.com: http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/05/27/2 openwall.com: http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/05/29/1 security-tracker.debian.org: https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-5278 cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org: https://cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/coreutils.git/tree/NEWS?id=8c9602e3a145e9596dc1a63c6ed67865814b6633#n14 openwall.com: http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/05/29/2
Credits
Red Hat would like to thank Mohamed Maatallah for reporting this issue.