CVE-2012-5840: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-3355-xw7j-q4q7
CWE-416
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2012-5840 is a HIGH security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-416: Use After Free) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2012-5840 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2012-5840
GHSA Identifier GHSA-3355-xw7j-q4q7
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-416: Use After Free
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2012-5840

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

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

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2012-5840, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software 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 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-416: Use After Free, where the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer. In Software, 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

Use-after-free vulnerability in the nsTextEditorState::PrepareEditor function in Mozilla Firefox before 17.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.11, Thunderbird before 17.0, Thunderbird ESR 10.x before 10.0.11, and SeaMonkey before 2.14 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-4214.

References

secunia.com/advisories/51359 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/51359
secunia.com/advisories/51360 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/51360
secunia.com/advisories/51370 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/51370
secunia.com/advisories/51381 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/51381
secunia.com/advisories/51434 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/51434
secunia.com/advisories/51439 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/51439
secunia.com/advisories/51440 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/51440
NVD — CVE-2012-5840 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5840
bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=805287
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/801... WEB
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/80190
Software Security Information SECURITY
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A16904
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-11/msg00021.html
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2013-01/msg00022.html
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/20... WEB
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-11/msg00090.html
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/20... WEB
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-11/msg00092.html
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/20... WEB
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-11/msg00093.html
osvdb.org/87606 WEB
http://osvdb.org/87606
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2012-14... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1482.html
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2012-14... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1483.html
secunia.com/advisories/51369 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/51369
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2012:173
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2012/mfsa2012-105.html
www.palemoon.org/releasenotes-ng.sht... WEB
http://www.palemoon.org/releasenotes-ng.shtml
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/56635
www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1636-1 WEB
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1636-1
www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1638-1 WEB
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1638-1
www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1638-2 WEB
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1638-2
www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1638-3 WEB
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1638-3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2012-5840?
CVE-2012-5840 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-416: Use After Free.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2012-5840?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2012-5840?
CVE-2012-5840 is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free (The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2012-5840?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-3355-xw7j-q4q7",
  "modified" : "2022-05-13T01:24:21Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:24:21Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2012-5840" ],
  "details" : "Use-after-free vulnerability in the nsTextEditorState::PrepareEditor function in Mozilla Firefox before 17.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.11, Thunderbird before 17.0, Thunderbird ESR 10.x before 10.0.11, and SeaMonkey before 2.14 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-4214.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5840"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=805287"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/80190"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A16904"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-11/msg00021.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2013-01/msg00022.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-11/msg00090.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-11/msg00092.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-11/msg00093.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://osvdb.org/87606"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1482.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1483.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/51359"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/51360"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/51369"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/51370"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/51381"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/51434"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/51439"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/51440"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2012:173"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2012/mfsa2012-105.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.palemoon.org/releasenotes-ng.shtml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/56635"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1636-1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1638-1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1638-2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1638-3"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-416" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2012-11-21T12:55:00Z"
  }
}