Is CVE-2025-59699 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2025-59699 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2025-59699?

Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.8, published 2 December 2025.

Which products and versions are affected?

Entrust nShield Connect XC through 13.6.11, patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS); Entrust Nshield 5c through 13.6.11, patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS); Entrust Nshield Hsmi through 13.6.11, or 13.7, patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS).

Is there a fix for CVE-2025-59699?

A patch was published on 2025-12-02: Patches available in nShield 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS) Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

How is CVE-2025-59699 attacked?

It is attacked with physical access, in a network appliance.

Am I affected by CVE-2025-59699?

Check whether you run Entrust nShield Connect XC, Entrust Nshield 5c or Entrust Nshield Hsmi at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

CVE-2025-59699: Entrust nShield privilege escalation via insecure GRUB bootloader

CVE-2025-59699 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.8 · Published 2025-12-02

Entrust nShield hardware security modules (HSMs)—devices used to protect and manage cryptographic keys for enterprises—allow a physically nearby attacker to gain full administrative control by booting from a USB device. The vulnerability stems from weak default settings in the Legacy GRUB bootloader that do not prevent unauthorized boot media. Exploitation gives attackers complete control over the HSM, enabling them to steal keys, modify firmware, and potentially compromise the entire organization's encryption infrastructure without detection.

Technologies: Entrust nShield Connect XC, Entrust Nshield 5c, Entrust Nshield Hsmi. Vendors: Entrust.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2025-59699 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2025-59699 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2025-59699?: Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.8, published 2 December 2025.
Which products and versions are affected?: Entrust nShield Connect XC through 13.6.11, patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS); Entrust Nshield 5c through 13.6.11, patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS); Entrust Nshield Hsmi through 13.6.11, or 13.7, patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS).
Is there a fix for CVE-2025-59699?: A patch was published on 2025-12-02: Patches available in nShield 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS) Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2025-59699 attacked?: It is attacked with physical access, in a network appliance.
Am I affected by CVE-2025-59699?: Check whether you run Entrust nShield Connect XC, Entrust Nshield 5c or Entrust Nshield Hsmi at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

Technical details

The vulnerability is a privilege escalation flaw in the Legacy GRUB bootloader used by Entrust nShield HSM appliances (Connect XC, 5c, and HSMi). An attacker with physical access can insert a USB device containing a valid root filesystem and boot the appliance into the GRUB shell by hitting 'c' during boot, bypassing authentication. The insecure default bootloader configuration allows unauthenticated access to the boot menu and does not verify the integrity or source of boot media. From the GRUB shell, an attacker gains root-level access to the appliance, enabling full compromise of the HSM including cryptographic key theft, firmware modification, and persistent backdoors. Patches are available in version 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS).

Affected products

Entrust nShield Connect XC through 13.6.11, patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS)
Entrust nShield 5c through 13.6.11, patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS)
Entrust nShield HSMi through 13.6.11, or 13.7, patched in 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS)

Timeline

2025-12-02: disclosed
2025-12-02: patched: Patches available in nShield 13.6.12 (LTS) and 13.9.0 (STS)

References

https://github.com/google/security-research/security/advisories/GHSA-6q4x-m86j-gfwj

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