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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 24 Mar 2022. Known ransomware use
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2012-4681

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2012-08-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) component in Oracle Java SE 7 Update 6 and earlier allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted applet that bypasses SecurityManager restrictions by (1) using com.sun.beans.finder.ClassFinder.findClass and leveraging an exception with the forName method to access restricted classes from arbitrary packages such as sun.awt.SunToolkit, then (2) using "reflection with a trusted immediate caller" to leverage the getField method to access and modify private fields, as exploited in the wild in August 2012 using Gondzz.class and Gondvv.class.

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

Java Runtime Environment vulnerability allowing remote code execution through a crafted applet that bypasses SecurityManager by using ClassFinder.findClass to access restricted sun.* packages and reflection to modify private fields. Exploited in the wild via Gondzz.class and Gondvv.class applets.

MitigationUpgrade to Java SE 7 Update 7 or later, or disable Java browser plugins/applets entirely as a defense-in-depth measure.

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
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux EusOperating system
Affected:= 6.3
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
JdkApplication
Affected:= 1.6.0= 1.7.0
JreApplication
Affected:= 1.6.0= 1.7.0

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 installed Java version
    Run 'java -version' or 'java -fullversion' from command line to obtain the JRE/JDK version number
    Affected if Version starts with 1.6.0 or 1.7.0 (any update release) OR version shows 1.6.0_x or 1.7.0_x without being patched to 1.7.0_07 or later
  2. Check Java plugin in browsers
    Inspect browser add-on or plugin settings for 'Java SE' or 'Java' plugin status; on Linux check ~/.mozilla/plugins/ for libnpjp2.so or equivalent
    Affected if Java browser plugin is enabled or present in the browser configuration
  3. Verify Java deployment config
    On Windows check Registry under HKLM\Software\JavaSoft\Java Plug-in for version details; on Linux check /usr/lib/jvm/ for installed Java packages and their versions
    Affected if The deployed Java version matches the affected 1.6.0 or 1.7.0 families without the security update

System is affected if Java 1.6.0 or 1.7.0 is installed with the browser plugin enabled, as the vulnerability targets unpatched JRE/JDK versions in these specific families.

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

Upgrade to Java SE 7 Update 7 or later, or disable Java browser plugins/applets entirely as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Java SE 7 Update 7 (1.7.0_07) or later; for RHEL use available patched java-1.7.0 packages

  1. Identify the currently installed Java version by running 'java -version' or 'rpm -qa | grep java'
  2. For Oracle Java: Download and install Java SE 7 Update 7 or later from oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/
  3. For RHEL/CentOS systems: Run 'yum update java-*' or 'yum update jdk-*' to apply security patches
  4. Alternatively, install OpenJDK: 'yum install java-1.7.0-openjdk' or 'yum install java-1.7.0-openjdk-devel'
  5. Verify the updated version with 'java -version' to confirm installation
  6. Disable Java applets in web browsers as an additional mitigation if immediate upgrade is not possible
Caveat Applications relying on specific Java 1.6.0 or 1.7.0 behavior may require testing; some legacy applets may not function in updated versions

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

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,320
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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-2012-4681 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data