CVE-2012-3253
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 · uneditedMultiple unspecified vulnerabilities in HP Intelligent Management Center (IMC) before 5.0 E0101P05 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted input, as demonstrated by an integer overflow and heap-based buffer overflow in img.exe for a crafted message packet.
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 confidenceHP Intelligent Management Center (IMC) before version 5.0 E0101P05 contains multiple critical vulnerabilities allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted input. The vulnerabilities include an integer overflow and heap-based buffer overflow in the img.exe component when processing specially crafted message packets, leading to complete system compromise.
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<= 5.0= 5.0CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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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Identify HP IMC installation and versionCheck the installed version of HP Intelligent Management Center through the system control panel (Add/Remove Programs on Windows) or by locating the IMC installation directory and examining version files or the imc.exe properties. HP IMC is typically installed in C:\hp\imc or similar paths.Affected if The installed version is 5.0 or any version lower than 5.0 E0101P05.
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Locate the img.exe componentSearch for img.exe within the HP IMC installation directory. Use file explorer or a command like 'dir /s C:\hp\imc\img.exe' if the installation path is known.Affected if The img.exe file exists in the IMC installation directory, indicating the vulnerable component is present.
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Verify IMC network service exposureDetermine if the IMC service is listening on network ports. Use 'netstat -an' or check the IMC server configuration for bound IP addresses. IMC typically uses port 8080 or 8443 for web console access.Affected if The IMC service is bound to external or untrusted network interfaces and is accessible from outside the local network.
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Confirm the img.exe process or serviceOpen Task Manager or use 'tasklist' command to check if the img.exe process is running, or check Windows Services for HP IMC-related services.Affected if The img.exe process or an IMC-related service is active and running on the system.
A system is affected if HP IMC version 5.0 or lower is installed, the img.exe component exists, and the service is network-accessible to process malicious packets.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade HP IMC to version 5.0 E0101P05 or later to address these vulnerabilities. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to IMC interfaces and implement network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted networks.
HP Intelligent Management Center 5.0 E0101P05 or later
- 1. Identify the current installed version of HP Intelligent Management Center by checking the About section in the IMC client or examining the installation directory.
- 2. If the current version is 5.0 or any version before 5.0 E0101P05, plan for an upgrade to a fixed release.
- 3. Download the HP Intelligent Management Center 5.0 E0101P05 patch (or a later patched version) from the official HP support website (h20566.www2.hp.com).
- 4. Back up the current IMC database and configuration before applying any patches.
- 5. Apply the patch following the HP-provided installation instructions, typically by running the patch installer on the IMC server.
- 6. Verify the patch was applied successfully by checking the version number after installation.
- 7. Restart IMC services if required by the patch installation process.
- 8. Validate that the IMC management interface is functioning normally after the update.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-3253 — 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-2012-3253 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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