Medium Cryptography

CVE-2026-33308 — mod_gnutls missing key purpose check in client certificate verification

Mod_gnutls is a TLS module for Apache HTTPD based on GnuTLS. Prior to version 0.13.0, code for client certificate verification did not check the key purpose as set in the Extended Key Usage extension. An attacker with access to the private key for a valid certificate issued by a CA trusted for TLS client authentication but designated for a different purpose could have used that certificate to improperly access resources requiring TLS client authentication. Server configurations that do not use client certificates (`GnuTLSClientVerify ignore`, the default) are not affected. The problem has been fixed in version 0.13.0 by rewriting certificate verification to use `gnutls_certificate_verify_peers()`, and requiring key purpose id-kp-clientAuth (also known as `tls_www_client` in GnuTLS) by default if the Extended Key Usage extension is present. The new `GnuTLSClientKeyPurpose` option allows overriding the expected key purpose if needed (please see the manual for details). Behavior for certificates without an Extended Key Usage extension is unchanged. If dedicated (sub-)CAs are used for issuing TLS client certificates only (not for any other purposes) the issue has no practical impact.

Published Mar 24, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: GitHub_M

Low

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.

How the score was calculated

EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+2
Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation

Not confirmed

Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.

EPSS FIRST

0.24%

ahead of 14% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026

Affects

Airtower-luna

Mod Gnutls

CVSS base

5.9

Medium · 3 source(s)

Prioritization reference: 6.8 provisional

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation

None

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

can an attacker script the kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Partial

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

Documented mitigation — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Airtower-luna Mod Gnutls, Mod Gnutls Project Mod Gnutls).
The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
Apply the documented mitigations until a definitive fix is available.
Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (cryptography), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status	Source
Airtower-luna	Mod Gnutls	version < 0.13.0	Vulnerable	CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Mod Gnutls Project	Mod Gnutls	< 0.13.0	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector

Network

Attack complexity

High

Privileges required

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Scored by
6.8	CVSS 3.1	Medium	2.2	4.0	security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
6.8	CVSS 3.1	Medium	—	—	GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
5.9	CVSS 3.1	Medium	2.2	3.6	nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Scoring entities (NIST, CNA, ADP) score independently; each score is shown with its origin. For prioritization we use 6.8 (security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-295 · Improper Certificate Validation

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.24%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Check TLS negotiations and unexpected certificates in the component’s traffic.

web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
Affected products added · airtower-luna/mod gnutls
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 13, 2026
Fix documented
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS changed · 5.9
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Analyzed
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Record created in this database
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVE published
Mar 24, 2026 · GitHub_M

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

1 on the record

github.com/airtower-luna/mod_gnutls/security/advisories/GHSA-hm2g-m958-8qgh
Mitigation, Vendor Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Airtower-luna
every CVE for this vendor

Cryptography
same class

CWE-295
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

High CVE-2026-33307 mod_gnutils has stack-based buffer overflow caused by a long client certificate chain Mar 23, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-33308 is "mod_gnutls missing key purpose check in client certificate verification", rated Medium. It affects Mod Gnutls (Airtower-luna); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.9 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.24% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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