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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2012-2248

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-11-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
An issue was discovered in dhclient 4.3.1-6 due to an embedded path variable.

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 · moderate confidence

A path injection vulnerability in dhclient 4.3.1-6 allows manipulation of the embedded path variable, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution during DHCP client operations.

MitigationUpgrade dhclient to a patched version beyond 4.3.1-6 and ensure the PATH environment is properly secured and not user-controlled during client operations.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0
DhclientApplication
Affected:= 4.3.1-6

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Identify dhclient version
    Run 'dhclient -v' or 'dhclient --version' to determine the installed dhclient version
    Affected if Version equals 4.3.1-6 exactly
  2. Confirm Debian release version
    Check /etc/debian_version or run 'lsb_release -r' to identify the Debian release
    Affected if Running Debian 8.0, 9.0, or 10.0 with dhclient 4.3.1-6 installed
  3. Inspect PATH variable handling
    Review dhclient configuration files and scripts in /etc/dhcp/ and check if the PATH environment variable can be influenced by untrusted sources during client operation
    Affected if PATH variable is user-controllable or derived from untrusted input during DHCP client execution
  4. Verify dhclient binary location
    Run 'which dhclient' and 'dpkg -l | grep dhclient' (Debian) or check package manager for dhclient installation details
    Affected if The installed package version matches 4.3.1-6 specifically

You are affected if dhclient version 4.3.1-6 is installed on Debian 8.0, 9.0, or 10.0, and the PATH environment variable can be manipulated during DHCP client operations.

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

Upgrade dhclient to a patched version beyond 4.3.1-6 and ensure the PATH environment is properly secured and not user-controlled during client operations.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2012-2248 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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