CVE-2012-4817
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 NFSv4 client implementation in IBM AIX 5.3, 6.1, and 7.1, and VIOS before 2.2.1.4-FP-25 SP-02, does not properly handle GID values, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.
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 confidenceThe NFSv4 client implementation in IBM AIX 5.3, 6.1, and 7.1, and VIOS before 2.2.1.4-FP-25 SP-02, contains a flaw in GID (Group ID) value handling. When processing NFSv4 responses containing certain GID values, the client can be induced into a denial of service condition via malformed or specially crafted group identifiers from a remote NFS server.
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= 1.4.1.2= 1.5.1.1= 1.5.2.1= 1.5.2.6= 2.1.0.0= 2.1.2.10= 2.1.2.12= 2.1.2.13= 2.1.3.10= 2.2.0.10= 2.2.0.11= 2.2.0.12= 5.3= 6.1= 7.1CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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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Identify the system product and versionRun 'oslevel -s' on AIX or 'ioslevel' on VIOS to get the exact version numberAffected if The version matches any of the affected versions: AIX 5.3, 6.1, or 7.1; or VIOS 1.4.1.2, 1.5.1.1, 1.5.2.1, 1.5.2.6, 2.1.0.0, 2.1.2.10, 2.1.2.12, 2.1.2.13, 2.1.3.10, 2.2.0.10, 2.2.0.11, or 2.2.0.12
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Confirm NFSv4 client is enabledCheck if the NFSv4 client daemon is running using 'lssrc -s nfsd' or check for nfsv4 kernel extensions with 'lsnfscd -v'Affected if The NFSv4 client daemon (nfsd) is active or the system has NFSv4 mounted partitions (check with 'mount | grep nfs')
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Verify NFS client configuration for version handlingRun 'nfso -a' to display NFS options and look for client-related settings; also check '/etc/filesystems' for any nfs v4 mount entriesAffected if NFSv4 mounts exist or the system is configured to use NFSv4 as the default client version
Your system is vulnerable if it runs an affected AIX or VIOS version with the NFSv4 client enabled and handling NFSv4 responses from remote servers.
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 vendor patch (VIOS 2.2.1.4-FP-25 SP-02 or later, and corresponding AIX TL/SP updates) to the affected systems. As a secondary measure, restrict NFS server access to trusted sources and monitor for anomalous NFS traffic.
- Consultation4.0 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-2012-4817 — 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-2012-4817 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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