CVE-2025-25201

Improper Validation of Admin Key in PIV Smartcard

MEDIUM
4
CVSS Score
Published: February 12, 2025 at 06:07 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 09:00 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorNitrokey 3 Firmware

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Severity
MEDIUM4
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Nitrokey 3 Firmware is the the firmware of Nitrokey 3 USB keys. For release 1.8.0, and test releases with PIV enabled prior to 1.8.0, the PIV application could accept invalid keys for authentication of the admin key. This could lead to compromise of the integrity of the data stored in the application. An attacker without access to the proper administration key would be able to generate new keys and overwrite certificates. Such an attacker would not be able to read-out or extract existing private data, nor would they be able to gain access to cryptographic operations that would normally require PIN-based authentication. The issue is fixed in piv-authenticator 0.3.9, and in Nitrokey's firmware 1.8.1.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

4MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
LOW
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusDEFERRED
CWE
CWE-287

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