SatelliteApplication · Redhat
CVE-2012-1145
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 · uneditedspacewalk-backend in Red Hat Network Satellite 5.4 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 does not properly authorize or authenticate uploads to the NULL organization when mod_wsgi is used, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (/var partition disk consumption and failed updates) via a large number of package uploads.
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 confidencespacewalk-backend in Red Hat Network Satellite 5.4 on RHEL 6 fails to properly authenticate or authorize package uploads to the NULL organization when mod_wsgi is used, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to upload unlimited packages to the /var partition, causing denial of service through disk exhaustion and failed updates.
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
SatelliteApplication
= 5.4CVSS 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
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Red Hat Satellite versionCheck the installed version of Red Hat Satellite by running: rhn-satellite --version or looking for version files in /etc/sysconfig/rhn/ or /usr/share/spacewalk/Affected if The installed version is Red Hat Satellite 5.4 on RHEL 6
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Determine if mod_wsgi is in useInspect the Apache configuration for the Satellite frontend. Check /etc/httpd/conf.d/ for wsgi-related modules or examine the running Apache modules with: httpd -M 2>/dev/null | grep wsgiAffected if mod_wsgi is loaded and handling Satellite requests
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Verify NULL organization upload capabilityExamine the Satellite configuration files and database for settings related to NULL organization uploads. Check /etc/rhn/rhn.conf or similar config files for allow_null_org_upload or similar parameters.Affected if NULL organization uploads are enabled or the system allows unauthenticated package uploads
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Inspect /var for anomalous package uploadsReview the /var/log/rhn/rhn_upload* logs for unexpected or unauthenticated package upload activity. Check /var/satellite/ or /var/lib/spacewalk/upload/ for unusually large or numerous package files.Affected if There are package uploads in the logs or /var directory that were not initiated by authenticated users
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Check disk usage on /var partitionRun df -h /var to monitor disk space usage and look for signs of exhaustion caused by excessive package uploads.Affected if Disk usage on /var is abnormally high or rapidly increasing without legitimate cause
A user is affected if running Red Hat Satellite 5.4 on RHEL 6 with mod_wsgi enabled and NULL organization uploads are permitted, leading to potential unauthorized package uploads and /var disk exhaustion.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataImplement proper authentication/authorization for all upload paths to the NULL organization, disable NULL organization uploads if not needed, or apply available patches from Red Hat.
Fix this in Satellite
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-1145 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-1145 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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