CVE-2012-2990
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 MASetupCaller ActiveX control before 1.4.2012.508 in MASetupCaller.dll in MarkAny ContentSAFER, as distributed in Samsung KIES before 2.3.2.12074_13_13, does not properly implement unspecified methods, which allows remote attackers to download an arbitrary program onto a client machine, and execute this program, via a crafted HTML document.
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 analysisThe application evaluates attacker-influenced input as code, handing them a way to run logic inside the process. Depending on the runtime this can escalate directly to remote code execution. Remediation means removing dynamic evaluation of untrusted input and replacing it with safe, data-driven alternatives.
General guidance for the code injection class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
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<= 2.3.2.12074CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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.
dbcve · scopedSamsung KIES version 2.3.2.12074_13_13 or later
- 1. Uninstall the current version of Samsung KIES (version 2.3.2.12074 or earlier) from the affected system.
- 2. Navigate to the official Samsung support website or trusted software distribution channel to obtain the latest version of Samsung KIES.
- 3. Download Samsung KIES version 2.3.2.12074_13_13 or later, which includes the patched MASetupCaller ActiveX control.
- 4. Install the updated Samsung KIES version following the on-screen installation wizard prompts.
- 5. Verify the installed version by checking 'About KIES' or the program properties to confirm the version is 2.3.2.12074_13_13 or higher.
- 6. Alternatively, if upgrading KIES is not possible, disable the MASetupCaller ActiveX control in Internet Explorer by going to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Custom Level and disabling 'Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe for scripting'.
- 7. Set Internet Explorer security zone to 'High' or enable Protected View for untrusted HTML documents as an additional mitigation.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-2990 — 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-2012-2990 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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