CVE-2012-2162
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 Web Server Plug-in in IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) 8.0 and earlier uses unencrypted HTTP communication after expiration of the plugin-key.kdb password, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information by sniffing the network, or spoof arbitrary servers via a man-in-the-middle attack.
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 confidenceThe IBM WebSphere Application Server Web Server Plug-in 8.0 and earlier falls back to unencrypted HTTP communication after the password protecting the SSL keystore file (plugin-key.kdb) expires. This causes sensitive data to be transmitted in plaintext, enabling network sniffing and man-in-the-middle 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<= 8.0.0.0= 5.0= 5.0.0= 5.0.1= 5.0.2= 5.0.2.1= 5.0.2.2= 5.0.2.3= 5.0.2.4= 5.0.2.5= 5.0.2.6= 5.0.2.7CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify WebSphere Application Server and Web Server Plug-in installationLocate the IBM WebSphere installation directory and check for the WebServer plug-in component (typically under plugins/ or webserver/plugins/ subdirectory). Check for the presence of plugin-key.kdb keystore file.Affected if The Web Server Plug-in version is 8.0 or earlier (5.0.x through 8.0.0.0) and the plugin-key.kdb keystore file exists.
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Determine the exact plug-in versionCheck the version metadata of the Web Server Plug-in installation. This is typically found in version info files or manifest within the plugins directory.Affected if Version is 8.0.0.0 or earlier per the affected version list.
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Verify SSL keystore configurationLocate and inspect the plugin-cfg.xml or httpd.conf configuration file used by the Web Server Plug-in. Search for SSL-related directives and the keystore configuration pointing to plugin-key.kdb.Affected if SSL is configured to use plugin-key.kdb as the keystore.
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Check for password expiration statusReview IBM GSKit or WebSphere plugin configuration logs for any password expiration warnings related to the plugin-key.kdb keystore. Check if the keystore password has expired.Affected if The password protecting plugin-key.kdb has expired or is nearing expiration.
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Detect HTTP fallback behaviorExamine the plug-in configuration and network traffic logs to determine if the server has fallen back to unencrypted HTTP communication instead of maintaining SSL/TLS.Affected if Configuration or traffic shows plaintext HTTP communication where SSL should be enforced.
You are affected if you run WebSphere Application Server Web Server Plug-in version 8.0 or earlier and your plugin-key.kdb keystore password has expired, causing fallback to unencrypted HTTP communication.
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 dataEnsure the plugin-key.kdb password is renewed before expiration and consider upgrading to a patched version of WebSphere Application Server. Implement monitoring for password expiration and verify SSL/TLS communication remains active.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-2162 — 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-2012-2162 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
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