GnuTLS UAF in pkcs11_token_set_pin on NULL SO PIN
CVE-2026-42014 Published on June 16, 2026
Gnutls: gnutls: use-after-free in gnutls_pkcs11_token_set_pin
A flaw was found in GnuTLS. The `gnutls_pkcs11_token_set_pin` function, used for changing the Security Officer PIN, can lead to a use-after-free vulnerability. This occurs when an attacker attempts to change the PIN with a NULL old PIN for a token that lacks a protected authentication path.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-42014 is exploitable with local system access, and requires small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a small impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.
Timeline
Reported to Red Hat.
Made public.
Weakness Type
What is a Dangling pointer Vulnerability?
The program dereferences a pointer that contains a location for memory that was previously valid, but is no longer valid. When a program releases memory, but it maintains a pointer to that memory, then the memory might be re-allocated at a later time. If the original pointer is accessed to read or write data, then this could cause the program to read or modify data that is in use by a different function or process. Depending on how the newly-allocated memory is used, this could lead to a denial of service, information exposure, or code execution.
CVE-2026-42014 has been classified to as a Dangling pointer vulnerability or weakness.
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Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.