Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2012-6702

Expat, when used in a parser that has not called XML_SetHashSalt or passed it a seed of 0, makes it easier for context-dependent attackers to defeat cryptographic protection mechanisms via vectors involving use of the srand function.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.9, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network but requires specific conditions to be met without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts integrity (unauthorized modifications), for affected systems. Impacting 4 products from libexpat_project, from canonical, from debian and 1 other, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2016, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2016-06-16T18:59:00.327

Last Modified

2025-04-12T10:46:40.837

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 5.9 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: MEDIUM
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: NONE
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: NONE

Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-310

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	libexpat_project	libexpat	< 2.2.0	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	12.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	14.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	15.10	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	16.04	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	8.0	Yes
Operating System	google	android	4.4.4	Yes
Operating System	google	android	5.0.2	Yes
Operating System	google	android	5.1.1	Yes
Operating System	google	android	6.0	Yes
Operating System	google	android	6.0.1	Yes

References

http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3597 ([email protected])
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/06/03/8 ([email protected])
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/06/04/1 ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91483 ([email protected])
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3010-1 ([email protected])
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-21 ([email protected])
https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-11-01.html ([email protected])
https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2016-20 ([email protected])
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3597 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/06/03/8 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/06/04/1 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91483 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3010-1 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-21 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-11-01.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2016-20 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

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 libexpat_project'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.