Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2012-5380


Untrusted search path vulnerability in the installation functionality in Ruby 1.9.3-p194, when installed in the top-level C:\ directory, might allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the C:\Ruby193\bin directory, which may be added to the PATH system environment variable by an administrator, as demonstrated by a Trojan horse wlbsctrl.dll file used by the "IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules" system service in Windows Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8 Release Preview. NOTE: CVE disputes this issue because the unsafe PATH is established only by a separate administrative action that is not a default part of the Ruby installation


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.7, requiring local system access to exploit but requires specific conditions to be met though user interaction is required requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from ruby-lang organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Documented in 2012, this vulnerability occurred amid the cloud computing expansion era, where traditional network perimeter security models were being reevaluated. Organizations were transitioning from isolated infrastructure to interconnected systems, creating new attack surfaces that vulnerabilities like this could exploit.


Published

2012-10-11T10:51:57.500

Last Modified

2025-04-11T00:51:21.963

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 6.7 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:H/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

  • Access Vector: LOCAL
  • Access Complexity: HIGH
  • Authentication: SINGLE
  • Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
  • Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
  • Availability Impact: COMPLETE
Exploitability Score

1.5

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    NVD-CWE-Other
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-22

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application ruby-lang ruby 1.9.3 Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For ruby-lang's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.