CVE-2012-3234
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 · uneditedRealNetworks RealPlayer before 15.0.6.14, RealPlayer SP 1.0 through 1.1.5, and Mac RealPlayer before 12.0.1.1750 do not properly handle codec frame sizes in RealAudio files, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (divide-by-zero error and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted file.
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 confidenceRealPlayer fails to properly validate codec frame sizes when processing RealAudio files, leading to a divide-by-zero error that causes the application to crash. Remote attackers can exploit this by tricking users into opening specially crafted RealAudio files, potentially achieving code execution beyond just denial of service.
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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate RealPlayer installationSearch for RealPlayer executables: check Program Files folder for 'RealPlayer.exe' or 'RealPlayerSP.exe', or query Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\RealNetworks\RealPlayer or HKLM\SOFTWARE\RealNetworks\RealPlayerSP for InstallDir value.Affected if RealPlayer or RealPlayerSP executable is found on the system.
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Determine installed versionRun 'RealPlayer.exe -version' or 'RealPlayerSP.exe -version' from the installation directory, or read the Version value from the registry key found in the previous step.Affected if The displayed version matches any of the affected versions: RealPlayer <= 15.0.5.109, or versions 2.1.2/2.1.3/2.1.4/4/5/6/7/8/10.0/10.5/11.0; or RealPlayerSP versions 1.0.0/1.0.1/1.0.2/1.0.5/1.1/1.1.1/1.1.2/1.1.3/1.1.4/1.1.5.
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Confirm RealAudio file association is enabledCheck Windows Registry for file association keys under HKCR\.ra or HKCR\RealAudio.AutoOpen, or right-click a .ra file and verify RealPlayer is set as the default handler.Affected if RealPlayer is registered as the handler for .ra (RealAudio) or .ram files and the version is affected.
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Identify recently opened RealAudio filesCheck user Recent Documents folder or Windows Jump List for .ra or .ram files, or review browser download history for RealAudio file downloads.Affected if Any .ra or .ram files were recently accessed by the user on this system.
The system is affected if RealPlayer or RealPlayerSP is installed with a version matching the affected list and RealAudio file handling is active.
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+). Until patched, avoid opening untrusted RealAudio files and consider disabling RealPlayer file associations or using application whitelisting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-3234 — 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-2012-3234 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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