CVE-2012-4437: Smarty/smarty Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-9gqj-ppv2-f2hq
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CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2012-4437 is a MODERATE cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Smarty/smarty libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves cross-site scripting in smartyexception. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.1.12.

CVE-2012-4437 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2012-4437
GHSA Identifier GHSA-9gqj-ppv2-f2hq
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Smarty/smarty
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2012-4437

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

smarty/smarty fixed: 3.1.12 
Upgrade smarty/smarty to 3.1.12
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for smarty/smarty

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2012-4437, inspect your project dependencies for Smarty/smarty:

inspect dependencies for smarty/smarty

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Smarty/smarty in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.1.12), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Smarty/smarty, 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

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the `SmartyException` class in Smarty (aka smarty-php) before 3.1.12 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors that trigger a Smarty exception.

CVE-2012-4437 Affected Smarty/smarty Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.1.12
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
smarty/smarty
 Packagist
< 3.1.12
3.1.12

References

NVD — CVE-2012-4437 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-4437
code.google.com/p/smarty-php/source... WEB
https://code.google.com/p/smarty-php/source/browse/trunk/distribution/change_log.txt
code.google.com/p/smarty-php/source... WEB
https://code.google.com/p/smarty-php/source/detail?r=4658
Smarty/smarty Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty
lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-a... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-September/088138.html
Smarty/smarty Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20140201075419/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/55506
Smarty/smarty Security Information SECURITY
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/19/1
Smarty/smarty Security Information SECURITY
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/20/3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2012-4437?
CVE-2012-4437 is a security vulnerability in Smarty/smarty involving Cross-site Scripting in SmartyException under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Smarty/smarty versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.1.12 across affected packages: smarty/smarty.
What version fixes CVE-2012-4437?
Upgrading to 3.1.12 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is smarty/smarty affected?
Yes, smarty/smarty is affected in releases prior to 3.1.12. Upgrade your dependency to 3.1.12 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2012-4437?
CVE-2012-4437 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2012-4437?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for smarty/smarty'. 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-9gqj-ppv2-f2hq",
  "modified" : "2023-08-29T21:35:11Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T04:02:12Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2012-4437" ],
  "summary" : "Cross-site Scripting in SmartyException",
  "details" : "Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the `SmartyException` class in Smarty (aka smarty-php) before 3.1.12 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors that trigger a Smarty exception.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "smarty/smarty"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.1.12"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-4437"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://code.google.com/p/smarty-php/source/browse/trunk/distribution/change_log.txt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://code.google.com/p/smarty-php/source/detail?r=4658"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-September/088138.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20140201075419/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/55506"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/19/1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/20/3"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-08-29T21:35:11Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2012-10-01T03:26:00Z"
  }
}