CVE-2012-4956
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 · uneditedHeap-based buffer overflow in NFRAgent.exe in Novell File Reporter 1.0.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a large number of VOL elements in an SRS record.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow in NFRAgent.exe in Novell File Reporter 1.0.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a large number of VOL elements in an SRS record. The vulnerability occurs during parsing of the SRS record structure where insufficient bounds checking on the VOL element array leads to heap memory corruption.
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= 1.0.2CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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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Verify installed version of Novell File ReporterCheck the installed version of Novell File Reporter on the system. This can typically be found in Add/Remove Programs, the program's About dialog, or by querying the installed packages on the system.Affected if The installed version is 1.0.2 (the only affected version listed).
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Confirm NFRAgent.exe process is runningOpen Task Manager or use command line tools (tasklist /v or ps) to check if NFRAgent.exe process is currently active on the system.Affected if NFRAgent.exe is running. This is the vulnerable component where the heap overflow occurs during SRS record parsing.
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Check network exposure of NFRAgent serviceUse netstat or similar network tools to determine if NFRAgent.exe is listening on network ports or accessible from network connections. Examine which ports are bound and from which network interfaces.Affected if NFRAgent is bound to network-accessible ports (TCP/UDP) and reachable from non-localhost network addresses. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable via crafted SRS records.
A system is affected if Novell File Reporter version 1.0.2 is installed, NFRAgent.exe is actively running, and the service is exposed to network traffic where malicious SRS records with excess VOL elements can be received.
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 vendor-supplied patch for Novell File Reporter or upgrade to a version where this vulnerability is remediated. Until then, restrict network access to NFRAgent.exe services and implement network segmentation to limit exposure.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4956 — 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-2012-4956 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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