CVE-2012-4463
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 · uneditedMidnight Commander (mc) 4.8.5 does not properly handle the (1) MC_EXT_SELECTED or (2) MC_EXT_ONLYTAGGED environment variables when multiple files are selected, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted file name.
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 confidenceMidnight Commander 4.8.5 contains a command injection vulnerability in its handling of the MC_EXT_SELECTED and MC_EXT_ONLYTAGGED environment variables when processing multiple selected files. When these environment variables are set and multiple files are selected, the application fails to properly sanitize file names, allowing embedded shell metacharacters or commands to be executed via the external file handler mechanism.
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= 4.8.5CVSS 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
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:H/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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Check Midnight Commander versionRun 'mc --version' or 'rpm -q mc' (RPM-based) or 'dpkg -l mc' (Debian-based) to determine the installed versionAffected if The installed version is exactly 4.8.5
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Verify environment variables are setRun 'echo $MC_EXT_SELECTED' and 'echo $MC_EXT_ONLYTAGGED' to see if these variables are defined in the current shell sessionAffected if Either MC_EXT_SELECTED or MC_EXT_ONLYTAGGED environment variable is set to a non-empty value
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Check external extension configurationInspect ~/.mc/ext.ini (user) or /etc/mc/ext.d/ (system) for external file handler definitions that reference MC_EXT_SELECTED or MC_EXT_ONLYTAGGEDAffected if External extensions are configured that use these environment variables to process selected files
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Confirm multi-file selection contextReview the workflow or script that sets MC_EXT_SELECTED or MC_EXT_ONLYTAGGED to determine if it processes multiple files at once (the vulnerability requires multiple selected files)Affected if The configuration processes two or more files simultaneously using these environment variables
You are affected only if Midnight Commander version 4.8.5 is installed AND the MC_EXT_SELECTED or MC_EXT_ONLYTAGGED environment variables are actively used to handle multiple file selections.
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 dataAvoid using MC_EXT_SELECTED or MC_EXT_ONLYTAGGED environment variables with file sets from untrusted sources; consider upgrading to a patched version of Midnight Commander if available, or disable external file viewer/editor extensions when handling untrusted file names.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4463 — 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-2012-4463 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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