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Fencer Intel
medium 6.8

CVE-2012-0061 json

The headerLoad function in lib/header.c in RPM before 4.9.1.3 does not properly validate region tags, which allows user-assisted remote att…

published 2012-06-04 14 y ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-2012-0099

cvss
6.8
version 2.0, NVD
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
4.7%
EPSS 4.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 91%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

The headerLoad function in lib/header.c in RPM before 4.9.1.3 does not properly validate region tags, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a large region size in a package header.

Patch / fix

  • rpm Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 4.9.1.3-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2012-0061

  • rpm RHEL 5 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8
  • rpm RHEL 6 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1
  • popt RHEL 5 1.10.2.3-28.el5_8
  • rpm RHEL 3 ELS 4.2.3-36_nonptl
  • rpm RHEL 4 ELS 4.3.3-36_nonptl.el4
  • rpm RHEL 5.3 MISSION_CRITICAL 4.4.2.3-9.el5_3.3
  • rpm RHEL 5.6 EUS 4.4.2.3-22.el5_6.3
  • rpm RHEL 6.0 EUS 4.8.0-12.el6_0.2

red hat advisories RHSA-2012:0451

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2012-0061 updated cvss 7.6

rpm: improper validation of header contents total size in headerLoad()

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) rpm 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8, popt 1.10.2.3-28.el5_8, rpm-libs 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8, rpm-build 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8, rpm-python 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8, rpm-apidocs 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8 Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (v. 3 ELS) rpm 4.2.3-36_nonptl, popt 1.8.2-36_nonptl, rpm-libs 4.2.3-36_nonptl, rpm-build 4.2.3-36_nonptl, rpm-python 4.2.3-36_nonptl Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (v. 4 ELS) rpm 4.3.3-36_nonptl.el4, popt 1.9.1-36_nonptl.el4, rpm-libs 4.3.3-36_nonptl.el4, rpm-build 4.3.3-36_nonptl.el4, rpm-python 4.3.3-36_nonptl.el4 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client) rpm 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8, popt 1.10.2.3-28.el5_8, rpm-libs 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8, rpm-python 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 6) rpm 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-libs 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-python 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6) rpm 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-cron 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-build 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-apidocs 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1
    +15 more products
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (v. 3 ELS) rpm 4.2.3-36_nonptl, popt 1.8.2-36_nonptl, rpm-libs 4.2.3-36_nonptl, rpm-build 4.2.3-36_nonptl, rpm-python 4.2.3-36_nonptl Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (v. 4 ELS) rpm 4.3.3-36_nonptl.el4, popt 1.9.1-36_nonptl.el4, rpm-libs 4.3.3-36_nonptl.el4, rpm-build 4.3.3-36_nonptl.el4, rpm-python 4.3.3-36_nonptl.el4 Red Hat Enterprise Linux EUS (v. 5.6 server) rpm 4.4.2.3-22.el5_6.3, popt 1.10.2.3-22.el5_6.3, rpm-libs 4.4.2.3-22.el5_6.3, rpm-build 4.4.2.3-22.el5_6.3, rpm-python 4.4.2.3-22.el5_6.3, rpm-apidocs 4.4.2.3-22.el5_6.3 Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (v. 6) rpm 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-libs 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-python 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1 Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional (v. 6) rpm 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-cron 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-build 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-apidocs 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long Life (v. 5.3 server) rpm 4.4.2.3-9.el5_3.3, popt 1.10.2.3-9.el5_3.3, rpm-libs 4.4.2.3-9.el5_3.3, rpm-build 4.4.2.3-9.el5_3.3, rpm-python 4.4.2.3-9.el5_3.3, rpm-apidocs 4.4.2.3-9.el5_3.3 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) rpm 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-libs 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-build 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-python 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 6.0) rpm 4.8.0-12.el6_0.2, rpm-libs 4.8.0-12.el6_0.2, rpm-build 4.8.0-12.el6_0.2, rpm-python 4.8.0-12.el6_0.2 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 6.1) rpm 4.8.0-16.el6_1.2, rpm-libs 4.8.0-16.el6_1.2, rpm-build 4.8.0-16.el6_1.2, rpm-python 4.8.0-16.el6_1.2 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 6) rpm 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-cron 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-apidocs 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional EUS (v. 6.0) rpm 4.8.0-12.el6_0.2, rpm-cron 4.8.0-12.el6_0.2, rpm-apidocs 4.8.0-12.el6_0.2 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional EUS (v. 6.1) rpm 4.8.0-16.el6_1.2, rpm-cron 4.8.0-16.el6_1.2, rpm-apidocs 4.8.0-16.el6_1.2 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) rpm 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-libs 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-build 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-python 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 6) rpm 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-cron 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1, rpm-apidocs 4.8.0-19.el6_2.1 Red Hat RHEL Desktop Workstation (v. 5 client) rpm 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8, rpm-build 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8, rpm-apidocs 4.4.2.3-28.el5_8
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2012:0451

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Exploit prediction

4.69% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 91% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
NVD 2.0 6.8 AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-20 Improper Input Validation

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.