# CVE-2025-11232: Invalid characters cause assert

> A remote attacker can crash the Kea DHCP server by sending specific option content when DDNS qualifying suffix is configured.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 4 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** ALSA-2025:21038, GHSA-wcxf-jmjh-x27q, RHSA-2025:21038, RLSA-2025:21038, openSUSE-SU-2025:15677-1

## What is CVE-2025-11232?

CVE-2025-11232 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in ISC Kea, published on 29 Oct 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

To trigger the issue, three configuration parameters must have specific settings: "hostname-char-set" must be left at the default setting, which is "[^A-Za-z0-9.-]"; "hostname-char-replacement" must be empty (the default); and "ddns-qualifying-suffix" must *NOT* be empty (the default is empty). DDNS updates do not need to be enabled for this issue to manifest. A client that sends certain option content would then cause kea-dhcp4 to exit unexpectedly.
This issue affects Kea versions 3.0.1 through 3.0.1 and 3.1.1 through 3.1.2.

Weakness: CWE-823 (Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-11232?


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `kea-doc` | AlmaLinux:10 | All versions | 3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-devel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-hooks` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-hooks-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-keama` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-keama-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea-libs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.1 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea` | Rocky Linux:10 | All versions | 0:3.0.1-2.el10_1 |
| `kea` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 3.0.2-1.1 |

## How do I fix CVE-2025-11232?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-11232 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-11232 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-11232 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-11232 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in ISC Kea, published on 29 Oct 2025. 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-2025-11232 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ISC Kea. 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-2025-11232/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-11232/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-11232
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-11232
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-11232

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-11232/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.