MuninApplication · Munin Monitoring

CVE-2012-2147

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-08-26
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
munin-cgi-graph in Munin 2.0 rc4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (disk or memory consumption) via many image requests with large values in the (1) size_x or (2) size_y parameters.

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

munin-cgi-graph in Munin 2.0 rc4 lacks proper input validation on the size_x and size_y parameters in image requests. Remote attackers can exploit this by sending numerous requests with extremely large parameter values, causing excessive disk or memory consumption leading to denial of service.

MitigationImplement strict input validation and upper bounds on size_x and size_y parameters. Consider adding rate limiting and resource quotas for the CGI graphing endpoint to prevent resource exhaustion attacks.

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
MuninApplication
Affected:= 2.0_rc4

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check Munin installation and version
    Run 'munin --version' or check package manager (dpkg -l | grep munin, rpm -qa | grep munin) to identify if Munin is installed and its exact version
    Affected if Version is exactly 2.0_rc4
  2. Verify munin-cgi-graph component is present
    Locate the munin-cgi-graph executable: 'find /usr -name munin-cgi-graph' or check the Munin CGI directory (typically /usr/lib/cgi-bin/ or /var/www/cgi-bin/)
    Affected if munin-cgi-graph executable exists in the expected CGI directory
  3. Confirm CGI graphing endpoint is enabled
    Check web server configuration (Apache/Nginx) for CGI script execution enabled for munin-cgi-graph, or verify the CGI directory is accessible via web server
    Affected if CGI endpoint is web-accessible and functional
  4. Inspect current input validation configuration
    Review Munin CGI configuration files (typically in /etc/munin/) for any existing size_x/size_y parameter limits, or examine the munin-cgi-graph source code if accessible for validation logic
    Affected if No upper bounds or validation limits are configured for size_x and size_y parameters
  5. Test for parameter validation weakness
    Send a test HTTP request to the munin-cgi-graph endpoint with exaggerated size_x and size_y values (e.g., size_x=99999&size_y=99999) and observe if the application accepts them without error or limit enforcement
    Affected if Extremely large parameter values are accepted without validation or error

System is affected if Munin version is exactly 2.0_rc4 AND the munin-cgi-graph CGI endpoint is enabled and accessible without proper input validation bounds on size_x/size_y parameters.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement strict input validation and upper bounds on size_x and size_y parameters. Consider adding rate limiting and resource quotas for the CGI graphing endpoint to prevent resource exhaustion attacks.

Fix this in Munin Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2012-2147 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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