Nshield 5c Firmware: Improper Privilege Management
CVE-2025-59697 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in Nshield 5c Firmware from Entrust, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2 out of 10. It can be exploited with physical access to the device by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 13.6.12, 13.9.0 as the first without the flaw, so updating Nshield 5c Firmware to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.33% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Nshield 5c Firmware to 13.6.12 or 13.9.0, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Nshield Hsmi Firmware to 13.6.12 or 13.9.0, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Nshield Connect Xc Base Firmware to 13.6.12 or 13.9.0, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entrust | Nshield 5c Firmware | before 13.6.12; 13.7 up to, but not including, 13.9.0 | 13.6.12, 13.9.0 |
| Entrust | Nshield Hsmi Firmware | before 13.6.12; 13.7 up to, but not including, 13.9.0 | 13.6.12, 13.9.0 |
| Entrust | Nshield Connect Xc Base Firmware | before 13.6.12; 13.7 up to, but not including, 13.9.0 | 13.6.12, 13.9.0 |
| Entrust | Nshield Connect Xc Mid Firmware | before 13.6.12; 13.7 up to, but not including, 13.9.0 | 13.6.12, 13.9.0 |
| Entrust | Nshield Connect Xc High Firmware | before 13.6.12; 13.7 up to, but not including, 13.9.0 | 13.6.12, 13.9.0 |
Version data comes from NVD's product matching. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- PhysicalThe attacker must physically touch the device.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CISA (ADP).
Official description
Entrust nShield Connect XC, nShield 5c, and nShield HSMi through 13.6.11, or 13.7 (patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS)), allow a physically proximate attacker to escalate privileges by editing the Legacy GRUB bootloader configuration to start a root shell upon boot of the host OS. This is called F06.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Privilege Management
The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
- Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
- Consider following the principle of separation of privilege. Require multiple conditions to be met before permitting access to a system resource.
More Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities (CWE-269)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in Nshield 5c Firmware
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.2 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
Recent Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
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