CVE-2012-4516
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 · uneditedlibrdmacm 1.0.16, when ibacm.port is not specified, connects to port 6125, which allows remote attackers to specify the address resolution information for the application via a malicious ib_acm service.
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 confidencelibrdmacm 1.0.16 connects to the default ibacm port 6125 when ibacm.port is not explicitly specified, allowing a remote attacker to intercept or manipulate address resolution by running a malicious ib_acm service on that port. This enables injection of false InfiniBand routing information, potentially redirecting RDMA traffic through attacker-controlled paths.
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= 1.0.16CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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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Identify installed librdmacm versionRun 'rpm -q librdmacm' or 'dpkg -l librdmacm' to retrieve the installed version number, or use 'rdma version 2>/dev/null' if the rdma tool is availableAffected if The installed version is exactly 1.0.16
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Locate ibacm configuration fileSearch for the ibacm configuration file typically at /etc/rdma/ibacm.opts or /etc/ibacm.conf, and examine whether the 'ibacm.port' parameter is definedAffected if No explicit ibacm.port setting exists in the configuration (allowing the default port to be used)
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Verify if port 6125 is in active useRun 'netstat -anp 2>/dev/null | grep 6125' or 'ss -anp 2>/dev/null | grep 6125' to check if the default ibacm port 6125 is listening or connectedAffected if Port 6125 is listening or has active connections and librdmacm is in use for RDMA operations
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Assess network exposure of the ibacm serviceReview firewall rules, network bindings, and host-based access controls to determine if port 6125 is reachable from network segments that contain untrusted hostsAffected if Port 6125 is accessible from network segments without trusted RDMA endpoints, increasing exposure to malicious ibacm injection
A system is affected if librdmacm version 1.0.16 is installed with ibacm port 6125 as the active binding and that port is network-accessible to untrusted hosts.
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 dataExplicitly configure a specific trusted ibacm.port in the librdmacm configuration and restrict network access to only authorized ib_acm services, or implement authentication/verification of ACM responses.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4516 — 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-2012-4516 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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