CVE-2012-5497: Plone Plone User Account Enumeration Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-683w-84m7-p8pw
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2012-5497 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) plone user account enumeration vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Plone libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves plone user account enumeration via crafted url. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.2.3, 4.3b1.

CVE-2012-5497 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2012-5497
GHSA Identifier GHSA-683w-84m7-p8pw
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product Plone
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2012-5497

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

Plone fixed: 4.2.3 
pip install Plone>=4.2.3
Plone fixed: 4.3b1 
pip install Plone>=4.3b1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

pip show Plone

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2012-5497, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show Plone

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Plone in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.2.3), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show Plone command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Plone, 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

membership_tool.py in Plone before 4.2.3 and 4.3 before beta 1 allows remote attackers to enumerate user account names via a crafted URL.

CVE-2012-5497 Affected Plone Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.2.34.3b1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
Plone
pypi/Plone
PyPI
< 4.2.3
4.2.3
Plone
pypi/Plone
PyPI
≥ 4.3a1
< 4.3b1
4.3b1

References

NVD — CVE-2012-5497 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5497
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/plone/Products.CMFPlone/commit/a9479a5b38646fe0b0a9066ee46de9c18de32bfa
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/plone/Products.CMFPlone/commit/c3a98f4e6cf26501485de9c8354c49afdea21df8
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2014:11... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014:1194
Plone Security Information SECURITY
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-5497
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=874681
Plone Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/plone/Plone
Plone Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/plone/Products.CMFPlone/blob/4.2.3/docs/CHANGES.txt
Plone Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/plone/PYSEC-2014-39.yaml
Plone Release RELEASE
https://plone.org/products/plone-hotfix/releases/20121106
Plone Security Information SECURITY
https://plone.org/products/plone/security/advisories/20121106/13
Plone Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20131103175056/https://plone.org/products/plone/security/advisories/20121106/13
web.archive.org/web/20131114082527/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20131114082527/https://plone.org/products/plone-hotfix/releases/20121106
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2014-11... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014-1194.html
Plone Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/11/10/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2012-5497?
CVE-2012-5497 is a security vulnerability in Plone involving Plone User account enumeration via crafted URL under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which Plone versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.2.3, 4.3b1 across affected packages: Plone.
What version fixes CVE-2012-5497?
Upgrading to 4.2.3, 4.3b1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is Plone affected?
Yes, Plone is affected in releases prior to 4.2.3, 4.3b1. Upgrade your dependency to 4.2.3, 4.3b1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2012-5497?
CVE-2012-5497 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2012-5497?
CVE-2012-5497 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2012-5497?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show Plone'. 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-683w-84m7-p8pw",
  "modified" : "2024-10-14T21:29:25Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T04:31:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2012-5497" ],
  "summary" : "Plone User account enumeration via crafted URL",
  "details" : "membership_tool.py in Plone before 4.2.3 and 4.3 before beta 1 allows remote attackers to enumerate user account names via a crafted URL.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
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  } ],
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    },
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      }, {
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  } ],
  "references" : [ {
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    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014:1194"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-5497"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=874681"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/plone/Products.CMFPlone/blob/4.2.3/docs/CHANGES.txt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/plone/PYSEC-2014-39.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plone.org/products/plone-hotfix/releases/20121106"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://plone.org/products/plone/security/advisories/20121106/13"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20131103175056/https://plone.org/products/plone/security/advisories/20121106/13"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20131114082527/https://plone.org/products/plone-hotfix/releases/20121106"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014-1194.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/11/10/1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-02-08T17:55:30Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2014-09-30T14:55:00Z"
  }
}