# CVE-2006-7239: Null dereference in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash GnuTLS via crafted X.509 certificates using unsupported hash algorithms, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 May 2010
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p7rq-x368-qjpx, RHBA-2012:0319

## What is CVE-2006-7239?

CVE-2006-7239 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Gnutls, published on 24 May 2010. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The _gnutls_x509_oid2mac_algorithm function in lib/gnutls_algorithms.c in GnuTLS before 1.4.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a crafted X.509 certificate that uses a hash algorithm that is not supported by GnuTLS, which triggers a NULL pointer dereference.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2006-7239?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `gnutls` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |
| `gnutls-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |
| `gnutls-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |
| `gnutls` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |
| `gnutls-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |
| `gnutls-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |
| `gnutls` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |
| `gnutls-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |
| `gnutls-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |
| `gnutls-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:1.4.1-7.el5_8.1 |

Products: Gnu Gnutls.

## How do I fix CVE-2006-7239?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2006-7239 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2006-7239 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Gnu Gnutls

- [CVE-2008-1948](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-1948/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2017-5334](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5334/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-5336](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5336/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-5337](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5337/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2008-1949](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-1949/): Null dereference in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2006-7239 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2006-7239 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Gnutls, published on 24 May 2010. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2006-7239 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Gnu Gnutls. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-7239/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-7239/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2006-7239
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2006-7239
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2006-7239

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-7239/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.