CVE-2012-4850
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 · uneditedIBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5 Liberty Profile before 8.5.0.1, when JAX-RS is used, does not properly validate requests, which allows remote attackers to gain privileges 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 confidenceIBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5 Liberty Profile before version 8.5.0.1 contains a request validation flaw when JAX-RS (Java API for RESTful Web Services) is used. The lack of proper request validation allows remote attackers to potentially gain unauthorized privileges through unspecified vectors targeting JAX-RS endpoints.
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= 8.5.0.0CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/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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Identify WebSphere Liberty Profile installationLocate the WebSphere Liberty Profile installation directory. Common paths include /opt/ibm/wlp, C:\Program Files\ibm\wlp, or /home/user/wlp. Check for the existence of the wlp directory and the binary files bin/server and bin/productInfo.Affected if WebSphere Liberty Profile is not installed, this CVE does not apply.
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Determine the installed versionRun the command: <liberty_install_dir>/bin/productInfo version or cat <liberty_install_dir>/lib/versions/WebSphereApplicationServer.properties to read the version property. Look for the exact version number.Affected if The version is 8.5.0.0 exactly, proceed to the next check. If the version is 8.5.0.1 or later, the vulnerability is patched. If it is a different version entirely, this specific CVE may not apply.
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Check if JAX-RS feature is enabledExamine the server.xml configuration file located in <liberty_install_dir>/usr/servers/<server_name>/server.xml. Search for a feature element containing jaxrs (such as jaxrs-1.1 or jaxrs-2.0).Affected if The server.xml contains a jaxrs feature entry, the vulnerability is present and the environment is affected. If no JAX-RS feature is configured, the specific flaw does not apply to this installation.
You are affected only if WebSphere Liberty Profile version is exactly 8.5.0.0 AND the JAX-RS feature (jaxrs-1.1 or jaxrs-2.0) is enabled in your server.xml configuration.
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 IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty Profile to version 8.5.0.1 or later to obtain the vendor patch. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement additional request validation controls at the application layer for JAX-RS endpoints.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4850 — 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-2012-4850 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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