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Informix Dynamic ServerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2012-3334

HIGH · 9.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-09-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Stack-based buffer overflow in IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) 11.50 before 11.50.xC9W2 and 11.70 before 11.70.xC5 allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary code via crafted arguments in a SET COLLATION statement.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow in IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary code via crafted arguments in a SET COLLATION statement. The vulnerability affects versions 11.50 before 11.50.xC9W2 and 11.70 before 11.70.xC5.

MitigationApply vendor patches: upgrade IDS 11.50 to 11.50.xC9W2 or later, or upgrade IDS 11.70 to 11.70.xC5 or later. Consider network segmentation and restricting database access to trusted users only until patching is complete.

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
Informix Dynamic ServerApplication
Affected:= 11.50= 11.50.xc1= 11.50.xc2= 11.50.xc3= 11.50.xc3w1= 11.50.xc4= 11.50.xc4w1= 11.50.xc5= 11.50.xc5w2= 11.50.xc5w3= 11.50.xc5w4= 11.50.xc6

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
Single
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/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 checks

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

  1. Identify IBM Informix Dynamic Server version
    Run 'onstat -' or check the informix version file typically located in $INFORMIXDIR/etc/onconfig, or execute 'dbaccess -version' from the Informix bin directory
    Affected if The reported version is 11.50.xC9 or earlier, or 11.70.xC4 or earlier (versions before 11.50.xC9W2 or 11.70.xC5)
  2. Confirm SET COLLATION feature is accessible
    Verify the SET COLLATION SQL statement can be executed. Log into the database as an authenticated user and attempt: SET COLLATION to '<value>'. Check if the feature is enabled in the IDS configuration files (onconfig)
    Affected if The SET COLLATION statement executes without error, indicating the feature is available in the environment
  3. Check remote access configuration
    Review the sqlhosts file and onconfig for network listener settings. Look for NETTYPE configurations and verify if remote connections are enabled. Check if the $INFORMIXDIR/etc/sqlhosts contains entries other than 'local'
    Affected if Remote network listeners are configured and enabled, allowing remote authenticated connections to the database
  4. Verify authentication method
    Examine the onconfig file for USEOSTIME, USELASTCOMMIT, and authentication settings. Check if external authentication (LDAP, PAM) or built-in Informix authentication is in use. Review $INFORMIXDIR/etc/hosts.equiv or $INFORMIXDIR/etc/hosts.allow
    Affected if Remote users can authenticate to the Informix instance (whether via native IDS auth or external auth)

You are affected if you run IBM Informix Dynamic Server version 11.50 before 11.50.xC9W2 or 11.70 before 11.70.xC5, and remote authenticated users can execute SET COLLATION statements against the database.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patches: upgrade IDS 11.50 to 11.50.xC9W2 or later, or upgrade IDS 11.70 to 11.70.xC5 or later. Consider network segmentation and restricting database access to trusted users only until patching is complete.

Recommended fix High confidence

IBM Informix Dynamic Server 11.50.xC9W2 or later (for 11.50.x versions); IBM Informix Dynamic Server 11.70.xC5 or later (for 11.70.x versions)

  1. Verify current Informix Dynamic Server version using 'onstat -' or 'oninit -version' command
  2. For IDS 11.50.x versions: Upgrade to 11.50.xC9W2 or later (11.50.xC9W2 is the minimum fixed version)
  3. For IDS 11.70.x versions: Upgrade to 11.70.xC5 or later (11.70.xC5 is the minimum fixed version)
  4. Obtain the appropriate fix pack from IBM Fix Central (https://www-945.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/)
  5. Backup the current IDS environment including onconfig, sqlhosts, and all data before applying the upgrade
  6. Apply the upgrade in a test environment first to verify compatibility
  7. After upgrade, verify the version using 'onstat -' to confirm the fix is applied
  8. Restrict access to trusted authenticated users only as a defense-in-depth measure
Caveat Review IBM Informix compatibility notes for the target version before upgrading; test all custom applications using SET COLLATION functionality

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Informix Dynamic Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2012-3334 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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