CVE-2012-4734
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 · uneditedRequest Tracker (RT) 3.8.x before 3.8.15 and 4.0.x before 4.0.8 allows remote attackers to conduct a "confused deputy" attack to bypass the CSRF warning protection mechanism and cause victims to "modify arbitrary state" via unknown vectors related to a crafted link.
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 confidenceRequest Tracker (RT) versions 3.8.x before 3.8.15 and 4.0.x before 4.0.8 contain a CSRF protection bypass vulnerability. Attackers can exploit a 'confused deputy' attack to bypass the built-in CSRF warning mechanism, allowing remote attackers to trick authenticated users into modifying arbitrary system state via crafted links.
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= 3.8.0= 3.8.1= 3.8.2= 3.8.3= 3.8.4= 3.8.5= 3.8.6= 3.8.7= 3.8.8= 3.8.9= 3.8.10= 3.8.11CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/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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Check installed RT versionLog into the RT web interface and look at the footer or navigate to Admin > Tools > System Configuration to find the version number. Alternatively, check the RT version file or run 'perl -MRT -e 'print RT->Version' if command line access is available.Affected if The version is 3.8.x before 3.8.15 or 4.0.x before 4.0.8
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Verify CSRF protection is enabledExamine the RT configuration file (usually RT_SiteConfig.pm or RT_Config.pm) for the CSRF configuration directives. Look for settings like $WebRemoteUserAutocomplete, $RestrictLoginReferrer, or similar CSRF-related parameters.Affected if CSRF protection is configured but the version is vulnerable (the bypass only applies when CSRF protection is active)
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Check for CSRF token validation in requestsInspect HTTP requests and responses when using RT. Examine whether the __Secret token parameter is being passed in forms and validated. Use browser developer tools or proxy to observe form submissions.Affected if The __Secret token is present in forms but can be bypassed due to the vulnerability in affected versions
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Review referrer validation configurationCheck the RT configuration for $RefererCheck or $MaxReferer-ageSize settings. This relates to the confused deputy attack vector mentioned in the CVE description.Affected if Referrer checking is enabled but vulnerable to bypass in versions before 3.8.15/4.0.8
You are affected if RT is running version 3.8.0 through 3.8.14 or 4.0.0 through 4.0.7 AND CSRF protection or referrer validation is enabled.
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 dataUpgrade to RT 3.8.15 or 4.0.8 or later to obtain the security patch. Alternatively, review and enforce additional CSRF tokens or same-origin policy controls at the web application firewall level.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4734 — 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-2012-4734 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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