Description
The _gnutls_x509_verify_certificate function in lib/x509/verify.c in libgnutls in GnuTLS before 2.6.1 trusts certificate chains in which the last certificate is an arbitrary trusted, self-signed certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to insert a spoofed certificate for any Distinguished Name (DN).
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 4.0 | gnutls13 | 1.4.4-3+etch3 | DSA-1719-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | gnutls +2 | 1.4.1-3.el5_2.1 | RHSA-2008:0982 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | gnutls | 3.4.15-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10105-1 |
Advisories 3
- RHSA-2008:0982 Red Hat Security Advisory: gnutls security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-1719-1 gnutls13 - certificate validation Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10105-1 gnutls-3.4.15-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 7, 2025
References
- MDVSA-2008:227 vendor-advisory
- USN-678-2 vendor-advisory
- 33694 third-party-advisory
- GLSA-200901-10 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2008:0982 vendor-advisory
- USN-678-1 vendor-advisory
- 20081117 rPSA-2008-0322-1 gnutls mailing-list
- [gnutls-devel] 20081110 GnuTLS 2.6.1 - Security release [GNUTLS-SA-2008-3] mailing-list
- [gnutls-devel] 20081110 Analysis of vulnerability GNUTLS-SA-2008-3 CVE-2008-4989 mailing-list
- http://wiki.rpath.com/Advisories:rPSA-2008-0322
- 32687 third-party-advisory
- FEDORA-2008-9600 vendor-advisory
- http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/security.html
- https://issues.rpath.com/browse/RPL-2886
- 35423 third-party-advisory
- SUSE-SR:2008:027 vendor-advisory
- 32232 vdb-entry
- 1021167 vdb-entry
- 260528 vendor-advisory
- 33501 third-party-advisory
- 32879 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2009-1567 vdb-entry
- 32619 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2008-3086 vdb-entry
- 32681 third-party-advisory
- SUSE-SR:2009:009 vendor-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:11650 vdb-entry signature
- DSA-1719 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2008-9530 vendor-advisory
- gnutls-x509-name-spoofing(46482) vdb-entry