CVE-2012-2408
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 AAC SDK in RealNetworks RealPlayer before 15.0.6.14, RealPlayer SP 1.0 through 1.1.5, and Mac RealPlayer before 12.0.1.1750 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted AAC file that is not properly handled during decoding.
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 memory corruption vulnerability in the AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) decoder SDK of RealNetworks RealPlayer. Processing a specially crafted AAC file triggers improper handling during decoding, leading to heap corruption that can cause denial of service or potentially allow remote code execution.
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<= 15.0.5.109= 2.1.2= 2.1.3= 2.1.4= 4= 5= 6= 7= 8= 10.0= 10.5= 11.0= 1.0.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.5= 1.1= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3= 1.1.4= 1.1.5CVSS 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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Verify RealPlayer installationCheck for the presence of RealPlayer executable. On Windows, look for 'RealPlayer.exe' or 'RealPlay.exe' in typical installation paths such as C:\Program Files\Real\RealPlayer or C:\Program Files (x86)\Real\RealPlayer. On Mac, check /Applications for RealPlayer.app.Affected if RealPlayer is not found on the system, the user is not affected by this CVE.
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Identify installed RealPlayer versionRight-click the RealPlayer executable, select Properties, then navigate to the Details tab to view the Product Version. Alternatively, open RealPlayer and go to Help > About RealPlayer to display the version number.Affected if The detected version cannot be determined or the product is not RealPlayer.
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Compare version against affected listMatch your installed version against the following affected versions: RealPlayer <= 15.0.5.109, versions 2.1.2 through 2.1.4, versions 4 through 8, versions 10.0, 10.5, and 11.0; RealPlayer SP versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.5, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, and 1.1.5.Affected if Your installed version matches any of the listed versions, indicating potential vulnerability.
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Confirm AAC decoder capability existsVerify that the AAC decoding module is present by checking the RealPlayer installation directory for audio codec files, or attempt to open a standard AAC file within RealPlayer to confirm decoding functionality is available.Affected if The AAC decoder module is missing or disabled, exploitation is not possible through this vector.
A user is affected if RealPlayer or RealPlayer SP is installed with a version matching the affected list and the AAC decoder functionality is present and operational.
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 dataUpdate RealPlayer to version 15.0.6.14 or later (RealPlayer SP to 1.1.5, Mac RealPlayer to 12.0.1.1750 or later). Avoid opening untrusted AAC files from unknown sources until patched.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-2408 — 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-2012-2408 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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