CVE-2025-12816: Interpretation Conflict vulnerability in node-forge (npm)

What is CVE-2025-12816 About?

This vulnerability is an Interpretation Conflict (CWE-436) in node-forge that allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to desynchronize schema validations in ASN.1 structures. This leads to a semantic divergence that can bypass downstream cryptographic verifications, such as digital signatures. Exploiting this vulnerability would likely be complex, requiring sophisticated crafting of malicious ASN.1 objects.

Affected Software

node-forge <1.3.2

Technical Details

A critical ASN.1 validation bypass exists in the asn1.validate function within forge/lib/asn1.js of node-forge. The vulnerability allows a specially crafted ASN.1 object to desynchronize the validator when optional boundaries are encountered. This causes a malformed optional field to be semantically reinterpreted as a subsequent mandatory structure. This desynchronization can lead to logic bypasses in cryptographic algorithms and protocols, for example, by causing integrity checks (like MACs in PKCS#12) to be treated as absent or by misinterpreting fields in strict protocols such as X.509, leading to the misvalidation of signatures or security decisions.

What is the Impact of CVE-2025-12816?

Successful exploitation may allow attackers to bypass critical cryptographic verifications, compromise data integrity, or cause semantic interpretation conflicts in strict protocols, potentially leading to unauthorized access or manipulation of data.

What is the Exploitability of CVE-2025-12816?

Exploitation of this vulnerability is expected to be highly complex, requiring a deep understanding of ASN.1 encoding rules and the internal workings of the node-forge library. There are no authentication requirements, as the attack can be performed by crafting malicious ASN.1 structures that are then processed by the vulnerable component. No specific privilege levels are needed. The vulnerability is typically exploited remotely, as it involves feeding crafted ASN.1 data to target systems (e.g., via network protocols that use ASN.1 like TLS certificate validation). Special conditions involve the attacker needing to precisely craft ASN.1 objects that exploit the 'optional boundaries' logic in the asn1.validate function. Risk factors are increased when node-forge is used in contexts where it processes untrusted ASN.1 inputs, such as verifying external certificates or cryptographic messages.

What are the Known Public Exploits?

PoC Author	Link	Commentary
No known exploits

What are the Available Fixes for CVE-2025-12816?

A Fix by Resolved Security Exists!

See how we help you strengthen security with automated backported fixes for your libraries.

About the Fix from Resolved Security

This patch updates ASN.1 schema validation to strictly check the tag class and type for required elements, ensuring optional elements are not incorrectly accepted and that required items are properly matched, thus preventing schema confusion. In addition, it enforces that PKCS#12 structures with a macData field cannot skip MAC validation, effectively fixing the CVE-2025-12816 vulnerability by ensuring the integrity of cryptographic validation and eliminating possible bypasses that could allow tampered or malicious PKCS#12 data to be accepted.

Available Upgrade Options

node-forge
- <1.3.2 → Upgrade to 1.3.2

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Additional Resources

What are Similar Vulnerabilities to CVE-2025-12816?

Similar Vulnerabilities: CVE-2023-28484 , CVE-2023-38148 , CVE-2022-31129 , CVE-2021-44790 , CVE-2020-1971

CVE-2025-12816 Interpretation Conflict vulnerability in node-forge (npm)