Unified Computing SystemHardware / appliance · Cisco
CVE-2012-4085
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 Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) implementation in the Blade Management Controller in Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) allows remote attackers to enumerate valid usernames by observing IPMI interface responses, aka Bug ID CSCtg20761.
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 confidenceThe Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) implementation in the Blade Management Controller of Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) contains a user enumeration vulnerability. Remote attackers can determine valid usernames by analyzing differences in IPMI authentication responses, allowing them to identify valid accounts for further attacks.
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
Unified Computing SystemHardware / appliance
all 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/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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Verify IPMI interface accessibilityAttempt to connect to the BMC IPMI interface on UDP port 623 using an IPMI tool such as ipmitool or freeipmi. For example: ipmitool -I lanplus -H <BMC_IP> -u testuser -P testpass chassis statusAffected if The IPMI interface responds to network requests (port 623/UDP is open and reachable)
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Identify BMC IP addressLocate the Blade Management Controller IP address in the UCS Manager GUI under Server > Servers > Service Profile > Management IP, or via CLI: show impi overviewAffected if The BMC has a network-accessible IP address in the management network
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Test user enumeration response differencesSend IPMI authentication requests with known-invalid usernames (e.g., 'nonexistent1', 'nonexistent2') and compare the authentication failure messages or timing responses against requests with potentially valid usernames. Use: ipmitool -I lanplus -H <BMC_IP> -U <testuser> -P <password> sol activateAffected if Authentication error messages or response times differ between valid and invalid usernames, revealing which accounts exist
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Check firmware versionIn UCS Manager, navigate to Equipment > Chassis > Servers > Firmware or use CLI: show firmware details. Compare against the version that includes the fix for CSCtg20761Affected if The firmware version predates the Cisco patch for bug CSCtg20761 or is unknown/unpatched
The environment is affected if the IPMI interface on the UCS Blade Management Controller is network-accessible and authentication responses leak information about valid usernames.
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 dataApply the Cisco firmware patch for Bug ID CSCtg20761. If no patch is available, restrict network access to the Blade Management Controller's IPMI interface via ACLs or place it in an isolated management network.
Fix this in Unified Computing System
Scoped from the published advisory
- 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-2012-4085 — 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-2012-4085 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
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