CVE-2012-4974
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 · uneditedLayton Helpbox 4.4.0 allows remote authenticated users to change the login context and gain privileges via a modified (1) loggedinenduser, (2) loggedinendusername, (3) loggedinuserusergroup, (4) loggedinuser, or (5) loggedinusername cookie.
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 confidenceLayton Helpbox 4.4.0 contains an insecure direct object reference vulnerability where authenticated users can manipulate session cookies (loggedinenduser, loggedinendusername, loggedinuserusergroup, loggedinuser, loggedinusername) to change their login context and escalate privileges beyond their assigned user group.
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= 4.4.0CVSS 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
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/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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Confirm Layton Helpbox is installedLocate the Helpbox application installation directory or check running services for Layton Helpbox. Common paths may include C:\Program Files\Layton Technology\Helpbox or similar. Check Windows services or process list for Helpbox-related processes.Affected if The application is present and running.
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Verify the exact version is 4.4.0Check the application's version information - look in the installation directory for version files, or right-click the executable to view properties, or check Add/Remove Programs for 'Laytontechnology Helpbox' version 4.4.0.Affected if The installed version is exactly 4.4.0.
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Determine if the web interface is in useHelpbox uses a web-based interface for user authentication. Check if the application is serving HTTP/HTTPS requests on ports 80, 443, or custom ports (typically 8080 or 8443). Access the login page in a browser to confirm the web interface is active.Affected if The web interface is accessible and running.
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Inspect authentication cookie handlingAfter logging in as a standard user, open browser developer tools and examine the cookies set by the application. Look for cookies named loggedinenduser, loggedinendusername, loggedinuserusergroup, loggedinuser, or loggedinusername.Affected if These specific cookies exist and contain user identity or group information that could be modified.
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Test for privilege escalation via cookie modificationAs an authenticated standard user, capture the session cookies. Modify the loggedinuserusergroup cookie value to an administrator group identifier (such as 'admin' or '1') and refresh the page. Observe if elevated privileges are granted without server-side validation.Affected if Modifying cookie values changes the user's effective permissions or grants access to admin functions.
A user is affected if Layton Helpbox version 4.4.0 is installed, the web interface is accessible, and modifying client-side cookies (loggedinuserusergroup, loggedinuser, etc.) allows privilege escalation beyond the assigned user group.
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 dataImplement server-side session validation and avoid trusting client-supplied cookie values for authentication decisions. Use server-managed session tokens mapped to validated user identities rather than allowing cookie modification to alter user context.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4974 — 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-2012-4974 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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