Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-59698

Entrust Nshield 5C Firmware ≤ 13.6.12

Public PoC
Published
02 December 2025
Modified
08 December 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0027 19th percentile
Risk Priority 45 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-59698 is a medium-severity Generation of Incorrect Security Tokens (CWE-1270) vulnerability in Entrust Nshield 5C Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 6.8 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique System Firmware (T1542.001); ranked at the 19th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to PE-3 (Physical Access Control) and SA-18 (Tamper Resistance and Detection) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Entrust nShield Connect XC, nShield 5c, and nShield HSMi through 13.6.11, or 13.7, might allow a physically proximate attacker to gain access to the EOL legacy bootloader.

CWE(s)
CWE-1270

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1542.001 System Firmware Stealth
Adversaries may modify system firmware to persist on systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1542.002 Component Firmware Stealth
Adversaries may modify component firmware to persist on systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1070 Indicator Removal Stealth
Adversaries may selectively delete or modify artifacts generated to reduce indications of their presence and blend in with legitimate activity.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

Vulnerabilities enable physical access to legacy bootloader, unprotected boot chain, firmware modification via JTAG or upgrades, and tamper log editing on EEPROM without traces or events, facilitating pre-OS boot persistence via system/component firmware changes and indicator removal.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-59703Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C
CVE-2025-59700Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C
CVE-2025-59696Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C
CVE-2025-59699Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C
CVE-2025-59704Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C
CVE-2025-59702Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C
CVE-2025-59697Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C
CVE-2025-59705Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C
CVE-2025-59695Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C
CVE-2025-59694Same product: Entrust Nshield 5C

Affected Assets

entrust
nshield 5c firmware
≤ 13.6.12 · 13.7 — 13.9.0
entrust
nshield hsmi firmware
≤ 13.6.12 · 13.7 — 13.9.0
entrust
nshield connect xc base firmware
≤ 13.6.12 · 13.7 — 13.9.0
entrust
nshield connect xc mid firmware
≤ 13.6.12 · 13.7 — 13.9.0
entrust
nshield connect xc high firmware
≤ 13.6.12 · 13.7 — 13.9.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • PE-3 Physical Access Control
  • SA-18 Tamper Resistance and Detection
  • SA-22 Unsupported System Components
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)
  • SA-18 Tamper Resistance and Detection
Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

PE-3 Physical Access Control good match
prevent

Directly enforces physical access restrictions to hardware devices such as HSMs, blocking proximate attackers from reaching the legacy bootloader.

SA-18 Tamper Resistance and Detection good match
preventdetect

Requires tamper-resistance and detection mechanisms on components, directly addressing unauthorized physical access to the EOL bootloader.

SA-22 Unsupported System Components partial match
prevent

Mandates removal or replacement of unsupported/EOL system components, eliminating the vulnerable legacy bootloader itself.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-04 mostly match
degrades

Verification of identity assertions can detect incorrect tokens but does not prevent flawed generation logic.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly reduce the chance of implementing incorrect token generation.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
detects

Security testing in development can detect incorrect token generation before deployment.

A.8.24 Use of cryptography partial match
prevents

Proper use of cryptography ensures tokens are generated with correct algorithms, keys and entropy.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle practices include requirements and reviews that prevent flawed token-generation logic.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for correct token issuance and validation mechanisms.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards reduce the likelihood of implementation errors that produce incorrect tokens.

A.8.5 Secure authentication partial match
prevents

Secure authentication mechanisms directly govern the correct generation and validation of security tokens.

References