Skip to main content

Boteraser | Website and Server Security Solutions

🛡️ CVE-2025-12816 — forge

🟠 CVSS 8.6 — High ⚠️ Exploit Public CWE-436 NVD
8.6
CVSS Score
0 Low4 Medium7 High9 Critical10

Description

node-forge has an Interpretation Conflict vulnerability via its ASN.1 Validator Desynchronization

Summary

CVE-2025-12816 has been reserved by CERT/CC

Description

An Interpretation Conflict (CWE-436) vulnerability in node-forge versions 1.3.1 and below enables remote, unauthenticated attackers to craft ASN.1 structures to desynchronize schema validations, yielding a semantic divergence that may bypass downstream cryptographic verifications and security decisions.

Details

A critical ASN.1 validation bypass vulnerability exists in the node-forge asn1.validate function within forge/lib/asn1.js. ASN.1 is a schema language that defines data structures, like the typed record schemas used in X.509, PKCS#7, PKCS#12, etc. DER (Distinguished Encoding Rules), a strict binary encoding of ASN.1, is what cryptographic code expects when verifying signatures, and the exact bytes and structure must match the schema used to compute and verify the signature. After deserializing DER, Forge uses static ASN.1 validation schemas to locate the signed data or public key, compute digests over the exact bytes required, and feed digest and signature fields into cryptographic primitives.

This vulnerability allows a specially crafted ASN.1 object to desynchronize the validator on optional boundaries, causing a malformed optional field to be semantically reinterpreted as the subsequent mandatory structure. This manifests as logic bypasses in cryptographic algorithms and protocols with optional security features (such as PKCS#12, where MACs are treated as absent) and semantic interpretation conflicts in strict protocols (such as X.509, where fields are read as the wrong type).

Impact

This flaw allows an attacker to desynchronize the validator, allowing critical components like digital signatures or integrity checks to be skipped or validated against attacker-controlled data.

This vulnerability impacts the ans1.validate function in node-forge before patched version 1.3.2.

https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/blob/main/lib/asn1.js.

The following components in node-forge are impacted.

[lib/asn1.js](https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/blob/2bb97afb5058285ef09bcf1d04d6bd6b87cffd58/lib/asn1.js#L1153)

[lib/x509.js](https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/blob/2bb97afb5058285ef09bcf1d04d6bd6b87cffd58/lib/x509.js#L667)

[lib/pkcs12.js](https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/blob/2bb97afb5058285ef09bcf1d04d6bd6b87cffd58/lib/pkcs12.js#L328)

[lib/pkcs7.js](https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/blob/2bb97afb5058285ef09bcf1d04d6bd6b87cffd58/lib/pkcs7.js#L90)

[lib/rsa.js](https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/blob/2bb97afb5058285ef09bcf1d04d6bd6b87cffd58/lib/rsa.js#L1167)

[lib/pbe.js](https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/blob/2bb97afb5058285ef09bcf1d04d6bd6b87cffd58/lib/pbe.js#L363)

[lib/ed25519.js](https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/blob/2bb97afb5058285ef09bcf1d04d6bd6b87cffd58/lib/ed25519.js#L81)

Any downstream application using these components is impacted.

These components may be leveraged by downstream applications in ways that enable full compromise of integrity, leading to potential availability and confidentiality compromises.

How this vulnerability can be exploited

This issue can be reached over the network, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs no privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is changed, meaning a successful attack can affect components beyond the vulnerable one. Rated impact: confidentiality none, integrity high, availability none.

CVSS metrics in full

The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

  • Attack vector: Network — reachable from anywhere that can route to the service.
  • Attack complexity: Low — the attack works reliably, with no preparation.
  • Privileges required: None — an unauthenticated stranger can try it.
  • User interaction: None — nobody has to be tricked into anything.
  • Scope: Changed — a successful attack reaches components beyond the vulnerable one.
  • Confidentiality impact: None.
  • Integrity impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
  • Availability impact: None.

Weakness class

CVE-2025-12816 is classified as CWE-436: Interpretation Conflict. Two components parse the same data differently, so a check in one is bypassed in the other.

Affected software

CVE-2025-12816 is recorded against 2 packages.

  • forge (fixed in 1.3.1)
  • node-forge

Timeline and source

Published on 25 November 2025 and last revised on 17 June 2026. A public exploit is known to exist, which raises the urgency of patching considerably. A vendor advisory or fix has been published. Record sourced from NVD.

References

github.com
github.com
github.com
kb.cert.org
www.npmjs.com
www.kb.cert.org

Other advisories for this package

forge has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:

Same weakness in other software

These advisories are the same class of weakness (CWE-436: Interpretation Conflict) in other software:

CVE-2025-12816 on other distributions

Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:

Details

Severity HIGH
CVSS Score 8.6
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
CWE CWE-436
Public Exploit ⚠️ Yes
Source NVD
Published 2025-11-25
Updated 2026-08-20
Modified 2026-06-17

Affected Packages

Software From version Fixed in
forge — 1.3.1
node-forge — —

Similar Threats

Exploit Protection

Are you running forge?

CVE-2025-12816 carries CVSS 8.6 High rating and a public exploit already exists. BotEraser checks your installation against this and other known CVE records, and blocks IPs associated with exploit activity.

Check My Site For CVE-2025-12816 →

No credit card required  ·  Results in minutes

ⓘ Data Notice: The information presented above has been compiled from publicly available internet sources. Boteraser aggregates this data solely for informational purposes and does not independently classify, evaluate, or endorse any findings about the vulnerabilities listed. The accuracy and completeness of this information is the sole responsibility of the original publishers. Boteraser and its operators accept no liability for any decisions made based on this data.

Browse related advisories

All advisoriesCVECVE 2025
✓