CVE-2012-1499
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 · uneditedThe JPEG 2000 codec (jp2.c) in OpenJPEG before 1.5 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted palette index in a CMAP record of a JPEG image, which triggers memory corruption, aka "out-of heap-based buffer write."
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in OpenJPEG's JPEG 2000 codec (jp2.c) before version 1.5 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted palette index in a CMAP record of a JPEG 2000 image, causing out-of-bounds heap memory write.
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<= 1.4= 1.3CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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 OpenJPEG library versionRun 'pkg-config --modversion openjpeg' or check the shared library file with 'ldconfig -p | grep openjpeg' then 'ls -l /path/to/libopenjpeg*.so*' to see the version suffixAffected if Version is 1.3, 1.4, or any version lower than 1.5
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Check if OpenJPEG is linked to vulnerable applicationsUse 'ldd /path/to/application' or 'ldconfig -p | grep openjpeg' to list binaries using OpenJPEGAffected if Any application dynamically links to a vulnerable OpenJPEG library version
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Inspect JPEG 2000 image processing usageReview application logs or documentation to confirm if JPEG 2000 images with palette color mapping (CMAP records) are being processedAffected if Applications process JPEG 2000 images that use palette-based color indexing, which triggers the vulnerable CMAP record handling code path in jp2.c
A system is affected if it runs any version of OpenJPEG prior to 1.5 and processes untrusted JPEG 2000 images that utilize palette color mapping (CMAP records).
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to OpenJPEG 1.5 or later to obtain the patch for this vulnerability; validate that all software using OpenJPEG is recompiled/linked against the patched version.
OpenJPEG 1.5 or later (preferably latest stable release)
- 1. Identify the currently installed OpenJPEG version by running 'openjpeg_version' or checking package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q openjpeg', 'dpkg -l libopenjpeg*')
- 2. Upgrade OpenJPEG to version 1.5 or later. On Fedora/RHEL systems: 'sudo yum update openjpeg' or 'sudo dnf update openjpeg'. On Debian/Ubuntu: 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install libopenjpeg-dev'. On Gentoo: 'sudo emerge --sync && sudo emerge -av =media-libs/openjpeg-1.5*'
- 3. Rebuild or recompile any applications that dynamically link against OpenJPEG to ensure they use the fixed library version
- 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version with 'openjpeg_version' or equivalent
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-1499 — 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-2012-1499 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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