Description
libgnutls in GnuTLS before 2.8.2 does not properly handle a '\0' character in a domain name in the subject's (1) Common Name (CN) or (2) Subject Alternative Name (SAN) field of an X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof arbitrary SSL servers via a crafted certificate issued by a legitimate Certification Authority.
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 5.0 | gnutls26 | 2.4.2-6+lenny2 | DSA-1935-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | gnutls13 | 1.4.4-3+etch5 | DSA-1935-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | gnutls +2 | 1.4.1-3.el5_3.5 | RHSA-2009:1232 |
| RHEL 4 | gnutls +1 | 1.0.20-4.el4_8.3 | RHSA-2009:1232 |
Advisories 2
- RHSA-2009:1232 Red Hat Security Advisory: gnutls security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-1935-1 gnutls13 gnutls26 - SSL certificate Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:8409 vdb-entry signature
- 1022777 vdb-entry
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2009-0016.html
- [oss-security] 20090814 GnuTLS CVE-2009-2730 Patches (Was Re: GnuTLS 2.8.2) mailing-list
- RHSA-2009:1232 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SR:2009:015 vendor-advisory
- 36496 third-party-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:10778 vdb-entry signature
- 36266 third-party-advisory
- 20091120 VMSA-2009-0016 VMware vCenter and ESX update release and vMA patch release address multiple security issue in third party components mailing-list
- gnutls-cn-san-security-bypass(52404) vdb-entry
- RHSA-2010:0095 vendor-advisory
- http://article.gmane.org/gmane.network.gnutls.general/1733