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StrongswanApplication

CVE-2012-2388

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-06-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The GMP Plugin in strongSwan 4.2.0 through 4.6.3 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication via a (1) empty or (2) zeroed RSA signature, aka "RSA signature verification vulnerability."

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

The GMP plugin in strongSwan 4.2.0-4.6.3 contains a vulnerability in RSA signature verification where empty or zeroed signatures are incorrectly accepted as valid, allowing remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain unauthorized access to VPN connections.

MitigationUpgrade strongSwan to version 4.6.4 or later, or disable the GMP plugin and use an alternative cryptographic library (such as OpenSSL) for RSA signature verification.

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
StrongswanApplication
Affected:= 4.2.0= 4.2.1= 4.2.2= 4.2.3= 4.2.4= 4.2.5= 4.2.6= 4.2.7= 4.2.8= 4.2.9= 4.2.10= 4.2.11

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
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed strongSwan version
    Run `ipsec --version` or check the package manager for the installed strongswan package version
    Affected if The version is 4.2.0 through 4.6.3 (any version in this range)
  2. Verify if GMP plugin is loaded
    Run `ipsec statusall` and look for 'gmp' in the loaded plugins list, or check strongswan.conf for plugin loading directives
    Affected if The GMP plugin is listed among loaded plugins
  3. Confirm GMP is used for RSA signature verification
    Examine ipsec.conf and strongswan.conf for RSA engine settings; check if 'gmp' is specified as the plugin for RSA operations
    Affected if The configuration directs RSA signature verification through the GMP plugin rather than an alternative like OpenSSL

You are affected if your strongSwan version is 4.2.0-4.6.3 AND the GMP plugin is enabled and configured for RSA signature verification.

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 strongSwan to version 4.6.4 or later, or disable the GMP plugin and use an alternative cryptographic library (such as OpenSSL) for RSA signature verification.

Fix this in Strongswan Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,260
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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-2012-2388 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data