CVE-2025-59425: Vllm VLLM Is Vulnerable To Timing Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wr9h-g72x-mwhm
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-385
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-59425 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) vllm is vulnerable to timing vulnerability (CWE-385: Covert Timing Channel) affecting Vllm libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves vllm is vulnerable to timing attack at bearer auth. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.11.0.

CVE-2025-59425 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-59425
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wr9h-g72x-mwhm
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-385: Covert Timing Channel
Affected Product Vllm
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2025-59425

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Vllm dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

vllm fixed: 0.11.0 
pip install vllm>=0.11.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show vllm

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2025-59425, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show vllm

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Vllm in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.11.0), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show vllm command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-385: Covert Timing Channel, where covert timing channels convey information by modulating some aspect of system behavior over time, so that the program receiving the information can observe system behavior and infer protected information. In Vllm, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Summary The API key support in vLLM performed validation using a method that was vulnerable to a timing attack. This could potentially allow an attacker to discover a valid API key using an approach more efficient than brute force. ### Details https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/blob/4b946d693e0af15740e9ca9c0e059d5f333b1083/vllm/entrypoints/openai/api_server.py#L1270-L1274 API key validation used a string comparison that will take longer the more characters the provided API key gets correct. Data analysis across many attempts can allow an attacker to determine when it finds the next correct character in the key sequence. ### Impact Deployments relying on vLLM's built-in API key validation are vulnerable to authentication bypass using this technique.

CVE-2025-59425 Affected Vllm Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.11.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
vllm
pypi/vllm
PyPI
< 0.11.0
0.11.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/security/advisories/GHSA-wr9h-g72x-mwhm
NVD — CVE-2025-59425 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-59425
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/commit/ee10d7e6ff5875386c7f136ce8b5f525c8fcef48
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-wr9h-g72x-mwhm
Vllm Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/vllm/PYSEC-2026-2026.yaml
Vllm Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm
pypi.org/project/vllm WEB
https://pypi.org/project/vllm
Vllm Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/blob/4b946d693e0af15740e9ca9c0e059d5f333b1083/vllm/entrypoints/openai/api_server.py#L1270-L1274
Vllm Release RELEASE
https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/releases/tag/v0.11.0

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-59425?
CVE-2025-59425 is a security vulnerability in Vllm involving vLLM is vulnerable to timing attack at bearer auth under CWE-385: Covert Timing Channel.
Which Vllm versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.11.0 across affected packages: vllm.
What version fixes CVE-2025-59425?
Upgrading to 0.11.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is vllm affected?
Yes, vllm is affected in releases prior to 0.11.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.11.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-59425?
CVE-2025-59425 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-59425?
CVE-2025-59425 is classified under CWE-385: Covert Timing Channel (Covert timing channels convey information by modulating some aspect of system behavior over time, so that the program receiving the information can observe system behavior and infer protected information.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2025-59425?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show vllm'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-wr9h-g72x-mwhm",
  "modified" : "2026-07-17T16:15:30Z",
  "published" : "2025-10-07T17:24:47Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-59425" ],
  "summary" : "vLLM is vulnerable to timing attack at bearer auth",
  "details" : "### Summary\nThe API key support in vLLM performed validation using a method that was vulnerable to a timing attack. This could potentially allow an attacker to discover a valid API key using an approach more efficient than brute force.\n\n### Details\nhttps://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/blob/4b946d693e0af15740e9ca9c0e059d5f333b1083/vllm/entrypoints/openai/api_server.py#L1270-L1274\n\nAPI key validation used a string comparison that will take longer the more characters the provided API key gets correct. Data analysis across many attempts can allow an attacker to determine when it finds the next correct character in the key sequence.\n \n### Impact\nDeployments relying on vLLM's built-in API key validation are vulnerable to authentication bypass using this technique.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "vllm"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.11.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/security/advisories/GHSA-wr9h-g72x-mwhm"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-59425"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/commit/ee10d7e6ff5875386c7f136ce8b5f525c8fcef48"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-wr9h-g72x-mwhm"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/vllm/PYSEC-2026-2026.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/blob/4b946d693e0af15740e9ca9c0e059d5f333b1083/vllm/entrypoints/openai/api_server.py#L1270-L1274"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/releases/tag/v0.11.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pypi.org/project/vllm"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-385" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-10-07T17:24:47Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-10-07T14:15:38Z"
  }
}