{"id":"CVE-2012-4409","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2012-4409","generatedAt":"2026-11-05T08:05:27.468Z","title":"Stack-based buffer overflow in the check_file_head function in extra.c in mcrypt 2.6.8 and earlier allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an encrypted file with a crafted header containing long salt data that is not properly…","description":"Stack-based buffer overflow in the check_file_head function in extra.c in mcrypt 2.6.8 and earlier allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an encrypted file with a crafted header containing long salt data that is not properly handled during decryption.","published":"2012-11-21T23:55:02.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-16T23:44:58.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"secalert@redhat.com","cvss":{"version":"2.0","score":6.8,"severity":"MEDIUM","vector":"AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P"},"cwe":["CWE-119"],"affected":["mcrypt/mcrypt"],"epss":{"score":0.15084,"percentile":0.96743,"date":"2026-11-04","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":2,"verified":true,"firstPublished":"2012-11-26","source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[{"edbId":22938,"kind":"exploit","title":"mcrypt 2.6.8 - Stack Buffer Overflow (PoC)","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/22938","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/linux/dos/22938.py","file":"exploits/linux/dos/22938.py","published":"2012-11-26","added":"2012-11-26","updated":"2012-11-26","author":"_ishikawa","type":"dos","platform":"linux","port":null,"verified":true,"codes":["CVE-2012-4409","OSVDB-85194"],"tags":null,"aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":"http://www.exploit-db.com/screenshots/idlt23000/screen-shot-2012-11-26-at-122651-pm.png","referenceUrl":null},{"edbId":22928,"kind":"exploit","title":"mcrypt 2.5.8 - Local Stack Overflow","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/22928","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/linux/local/22928.pl","file":"exploits/linux/local/22928.pl","published":"2012-11-26","added":"2012-11-26","updated":"2012-11-26","author":"Tosh","type":"local","platform":"linux","port":null,"verified":true,"codes":["CVE-2012-4409","OSVDB-85194"],"tags":null,"aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":"http://www.exploit-db.com/screenshots/idlt23000/screen-shot-2012-11-26-at-121138-pm.png","referenceUrl":null}]},"verdict":{"level":"urgent","text":"EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 15.1%, higher than 97% of all known CVEs. Patch or mitigate before the next change window."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-September/086519.html","source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-September/087542.html","source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-September/088281.html","source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.org/files/116268/mcrypt-2.6.8-Buffer-Overflow-Proof-Of-Concept.html","tags":["Exploit"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://secunia.com/advisories/50507","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://secunia.com/advisories/51010","source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/06/4","source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1027532","source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=855029","source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-September/086519.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-September/087542.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-September/088281.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.org/files/116268/mcrypt-2.6.8-Buffer-Overflow-Proof-Of-Concept.html","tags":["Exploit"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://secunia.com/advisories/50507","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://secunia.com/advisories/51010","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/06/4","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1027532","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=855029","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-4409","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}