CVE-2025-2888

TUF repositories use the timestamp role to protect against rollback events by enabling an automated process to periodically sign the role's metadata. While tough will ensure that the version of snapshot metadata in new timestamp metadata files was always greater than or equal to the previously trusted version, it will only do so after persisting the timestamp metadata to its cache.

Impacted versions: < v0.20.0

Workarounds

There is no recommended work around. Customers are advised to upgrade to version 0.20.0 or the latest version.

References

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory we ask that you contact AWS/Amazon Security via our vulnerability reporting page [1] or directly via email to [email protected]. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.

[1] Vulnerability reporting page: https://aws.amazon.com/security/vulnerability-reporting

Acknowledgement

These issues were identified by the TUF-Conformance project. We would like to thank Google for collaborating on this issue through the coordinated vulnerability disclosure process.

If the tough client successfully detects a rollback event in which timestamp metadata contains outdated snapshot metadata, the invalid timestamp metadata will still be persisted to cache as trusted. tough may then subsequently incorrectly identify valid timestamp metadata as being rolled back, preventing the client from consuming valid updates.

CVE-2025-2888 has a CVSS score of 4.2 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, high privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (0.20.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

A fix for this issue is available in tough version 0.20.0 and later. Customers are advised to upgrade to version 0.20.0 or later and ensure any forked or derivative code is patched to incorporate the new fixes.

1. What is CVE-2025-2888? CVE-2025-2888 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in tough (rust), affecting versions < 0.20.0. It is fixed in 0.20.0.
2. How severe is CVE-2025-2888? CVE-2025-2888 has a CVSS score of 4.2 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of tough are affected by CVE-2025-2888? tough (rust) versions < 0.20.0 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2025-2888? Yes. CVE-2025-2888 is fixed in 0.20.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2025-2888 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-2888 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2025-2888 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2025-2888? Upgrade tough to 0.20.0 or later.