CVE-2012-4028
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 · uneditedTridium Niagara AX Framework does not properly store credential data, which allows context-dependent attackers to bypass intended access restrictions by using the stored information for authentication.
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 confidenceThe Tridium Niagara AX Framework improperly stores credential data, allowing attackers who gain access to the stored credentials to bypass authentication and access restrictions. The vulnerability stems from inadequate protection of stored credential information, which can be retrieved and used for unauthorized authentication.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N
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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Confirm Niagara AX installationCheck for the presence of Niagara AX Framework by looking for its installation directory or running 'niagara --version' if the command-line tools are availableAffected if Niagara AX Framework is present on the system
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Locate credential storage filesSearch for files that contain user credentials, authentication data, or password files within the Niagara installation directory, typically under 'conf' or 'users' directoriesAffected if Credential-containing files are found in the Niagara AX installation
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Inspect credential storage formatOpen the credential storage files identified and examine whether the passwords appear as plaintext, weakly encoded, or properly encrypted/hashed. Look for reversible encoding patterns or stored plaintext passwordsAffected if Credentials are stored in plaintext, Base64 encoded, or other reversible format rather than being hashed or strongly encrypted
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Check authentication configuration filesReview XML or properties files in the Niagara configuration directories that define authentication realms, user databases, or security domains for how credential data is handledAffected if Authentication configuration files show credentials stored without proper cryptographic protection
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Verify credential protection mechanismsExamine whether the Niagara installation uses industry-standard password hashing (e.g., bcrypt, PBKDF2) or encryption for stored credentials, rather than custom or weak protection methodsAffected if No evidence of strong cryptographic protection (hashing or encryption) for stored credentials is found
If Niagara AX Framework is installed and credentials are stored without strong cryptographic protection (hashed or encrypted), the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataImplement proper credential storage mechanisms such as strong encryption or hashing for stored credentials, and review all authentication paths to ensure stored credential data cannot be leveraged for unauthorized access.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4028 — 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-2012-4028 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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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