dbcve.org
RpmApplication

CVE-2012-0061

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-06-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.9.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The headerLoad function in lib/header.c in RPM before 4.9.1.3 does not properly validate region tags, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a large region size in a package header.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The headerLoad function in lib/header.c in RPM before 4.9.1.3 does not properly validate region tags, allowing specially crafted package headers with large region sizes to trigger buffer overflows. This can cause denial of service via crash and potentially allow arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade RPM to version 4.9.1.3 or later to obtain the region tag validation fix. Prioritize patching on systems that process untrusted RPM packages.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
RpmApplication
Affected:<= 4.9.1.2= 1.2= 1.3= 1.3.1= 1.4= 1.4.1= 1.4.2= 1.4.2\/a= 1.4.3= 1.4.4= 1.4.5= 1.4.6

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed RPM version
    Run 'rpm --version' or 'rpm -q rpm' to retrieve the installed RPM package version
    Affected if The version displayed is 4.9.1.2 or lower, or one of: 1.2, 1.3, 1.3.1, 1.4, 1.4.1, 1.4.2, 1.4.2/a, 1.4.3, 1.4.4, 1.4.5, or 1.4.6
  2. Verify header processing capability
    Confirm that the RPM tools are installed and functional by running 'rpm -qa | head -5' to list installed packages
    Affected if RPM is actively installed and can be used to query or install packages, meaning the header.c library is present and capable of parsing RPM headers
  3. Confirm vulnerability trigger condition
    Identify if the system processes RPM packages from untrusted sources, as the flaw requires specially crafted headers to trigger the buffer overflow
    Affected if The system routinely installs or queries RPM packages from sources outside your organization's trusted repository

You are affected if your installed RPM version matches <= 4.9.1.2 or any of the specific older version numbers (1.2 through 1.4.6) and the system processes RPM packages, allowing malicious headers to be loaded.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.9.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade RPM to version 4.9.1.3 or later to obtain the region tag validation fix. Prioritize patching on systems that process untrusted RPM packages.

Fix this in Rpm Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-0061 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-0061 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data