Nshield 5c Firmware: Observable Discrepancy
CVE-2025-59702 is a high-severity observable discrepancy 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 with elevated privileges to falsify tamper events by accessing internal components.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Observable Discrepancy
The product behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Compartmentalize the system to have safe areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.
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 Observable Discrepancy vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.0 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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