UBUNTU-CVE-2025-5278 (CVE-2025-5278)

Vulnerability from osv_ubuntu – Published: 2025-05-27 21:15 – Updated: 2026-08-31 14:12 – Source website
VLAI
Details

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.

Severity
4.4 (Medium)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
N/A (UNKNOWN)
low
References
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "coreutils",
            "binary_version": "8.21-1ubuntu5.4"
          },
          {
            "binary_name": "mktemp",
            "binary_version": "8.21-1ubuntu5.4"
          }
        ],
        "priority_reason": "Only results in a crash in a command-line tool"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:14.04:LTS",
        "name": "coreutils",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/coreutils@8.21-1ubuntu5.4?arch=source\u0026distro=trusty"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "8.20-3ubuntu5",
        "8.21-1ubuntu3",
        "8.21-1ubuntu4",
        "8.21-1ubuntu5",
        "8.21-1ubuntu5.1",
        "8.21-1ubuntu5.3",
        "8.21-1ubuntu5.4"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "coreutils",
            "binary_version": "8.25-2ubuntu3~16.04"
          },
          {
            "binary_name": "mktemp",
            "binary_version": "8.25-2ubuntu3~16.04"
          },
          {
            "binary_name": "realpath",
            "binary_version": "8.25-2ubuntu3~16.04"
          }
        ],
        "priority_reason": "Only results in a crash in a command-line tool"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:16.04:LTS",
        "name": "coreutils",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/coreutils@8.25-2ubuntu3~16.04?arch=source\u0026distro=xenial"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "8.23-4ubuntu2",
        "8.25-2ubuntu2",
        "8.25-2ubuntu3~16.04"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "coreutils",
            "binary_version": "8.28-1ubuntu1"
          }
        ],
        "priority_reason": "Only results in a crash in a command-line tool"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:18.04:LTS",
        "name": "coreutils",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/coreutils@8.28-1ubuntu1?arch=source\u0026distro=bionic"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "8.26-3ubuntu4",
        "8.28-1ubuntu1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "coreutils",
            "binary_version": "8.30-3ubuntu2"
          }
        ],
        "priority_reason": "Only results in a crash in a command-line tool"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:20.04:LTS",
        "name": "coreutils",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/coreutils@8.30-3ubuntu2?arch=source\u0026distro=focal"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "8.30-3ubuntu2"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "availability": "No subscription required",
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "coreutils",
            "binary_version": "8.32-4.1ubuntu1.4"
          }
        ],
        "priority_reason": "Only results in a crash in a command-line tool"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:22.04:LTS",
        "name": "coreutils",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/coreutils@8.32-4.1ubuntu1.4?arch=source\u0026distro=jammy"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "8.32-4.1ubuntu1.4"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "8.32-4ubuntu2",
        "8.32-4ubuntu3",
        "8.32-4.1ubuntu1",
        "8.32-4.1ubuntu1.1",
        "8.32-4.1ubuntu1.2",
        "8.32-4.1ubuntu1.3"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "availability": "No subscription required",
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "coreutils",
            "binary_version": "9.4-3ubuntu6.3"
          }
        ],
        "priority_reason": "Only results in a crash in a command-line tool"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:24.04:LTS",
        "name": "coreutils",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/coreutils@9.4-3ubuntu6.3?arch=source\u0026distro=noble"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "9.4-3ubuntu6.3"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "9.1-1ubuntu2",
        "9.4-2ubuntu1",
        "9.4-2ubuntu2",
        "9.4-2ubuntu3",
        "9.4-2ubuntu4",
        "9.4-3ubuntu3",
        "9.4-3ubuntu5",
        "9.4-3ubuntu6",
        "9.4-3ubuntu6.1",
        "9.4-3ubuntu6.2"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "gnu-coreutils",
            "binary_version": "9.5-1ubuntu4.1"
          }
        ],
        "priority_reason": "Only results in a crash in a command-line tool"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:25.10",
        "name": "coreutils",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/coreutils@9.5-1ubuntu4.1?arch=source\u0026distro=questing"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "9.5-1ubuntu1",
        "9.5-1ubuntu1.25.10.1",
        "9.5-1ubuntu2",
        "9.5-1ubuntu3",
        "9.5-1ubuntu4",
        "9.5-1ubuntu4.1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "availability": "No subscription required",
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "gnu-coreutils",
            "binary_version": "9.7-3ubuntu2.1"
          }
        ],
        "priority_reason": "Only results in a crash in a command-line tool"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:26.04:LTS",
        "name": "coreutils",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/coreutils@9.7-3ubuntu2.1?arch=source\u0026distro=resolute"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "9.7-3ubuntu2.1"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "9.5-1ubuntu4",
        "9.7-3ubuntu1",
        "9.7-3ubuntu2"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [],
  "details": "A flaw was found in GNU Coreutils. The sort utility\u0027s 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.",
  "id": "UBUNTU-CVE-2025-5278",
  "modified": "2026-08-31T14:12:48Z",
  "published": "2025-05-27T21:15:00Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-5278"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5278"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-coreutils/2025-05/msg00036.html"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-coreutils/2025-05/msg00040.html"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/05/27/2"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-5278"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8697-1"
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "USN-8697-1"
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.7.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    },
    {
      "score": "low",
      "type": "Ubuntu"
    }
  ],
  "upstream": [
    "CVE-2025-5278"
  ]
}



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