CVE-2012-5817: Xfire core Improper Input Validation Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-5jc8-8xhv-g8qm
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CVSS 7.4
CWE-295 CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2012-5817 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.4) improper input validation vulnerability (CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation) affecting Xfire core libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper input validation in xfire. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2012-5817 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2012-5817
GHSA Identifier GHSA-5jc8-8xhv-g8qm
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.4
CWE Classification CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation
Affected Product Xfire core
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.4

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2012-5817

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

org.codehaus.xfire:xfire-core fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.codehaus.xfire</groupId>
    <artifactId>xfire-core</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.codehaus.xfire

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2012-5817, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.codehaus.xfire

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.codehaus.xfire command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation, where the product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate. In Xfire core, 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

Codehaus XFire 1.2.6 and earlier, as used in the Amazon EC2 API Tools Java library and other products, does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in the subject's Common Name (CN) or subjectAltName field of the X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof SSL servers via an arbitrary valid certificate.

CVE-2012-5817 Affected Xfire core Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.codehaus.xfire:xfire-core
maven/org.codehaus.xfire/xfire-core
Maven
≤ 1.2.6

References

NVD — CVE-2012-5817 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5817
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/799... WEB
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/79934
www.cs.utexas.edu/~shmat/shmat_ccs12.... WEB
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~shmat/shmat_ccs12.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2012-5817?
CVE-2012-5817 is a security vulnerability in Xfire core involving Improper Input Validation in XFire under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation.
Which Xfire core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: org.codehaus.xfire:xfire-core.
What version fixes CVE-2012-5817?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is xfire-core affected?
Yes, org.codehaus.xfire:xfire-core is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2012-5817?
CVE-2012-5817 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.4 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2012-5817?
CVE-2012-5817 is classified under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation (The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2012-5817?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.codehaus.xfire'. 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-5jc8-8xhv-g8qm",
  "modified" : "2024-02-14T21:29:45Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T01:38:40Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2012-5817" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Input Validation in XFire",
  "details" : "Codehaus XFire 1.2.6 and earlier, as used in the Amazon EC2 API Tools Java library and other products, does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in the subject's Common Name (CN) or subjectAltName field of the X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof SSL servers via an arbitrary valid certificate.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.codehaus.xfire:xfire-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "1.2.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5817"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/79934"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~shmat/shmat_ccs12.pdf"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20", "CWE-295" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-07-12T22:17:46Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2012-11-04T22:55:00Z"
  }
}