CVE-2012-5301
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 default configuration of Cerberus FTP Server before 5.0.4.0 supports the DES cipher for SSH sessions, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain sensitive information by sniffing the network and performing a brute-force attack on the encrypted data.
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 · high confidenceCerberus FTP Server versions prior to 5.0.4.0 have the weak DES cipher enabled by default for SSH sessions. DES uses a 56-bit key, which is cryptographically weak and susceptible to brute-force attacks. An attacker who can sniff network traffic may recover sensitive information from encrypted SSH sessions.
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<= 5.0.3.1= 1.0= 1.01= 1.1= 1.2= 1.02= 1.03= 1.5= 1.05= 1.6= 1.7= 1.22CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/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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Identify Cerberus FTP Server installationLocate the Cerberus FTP Server installation directory and locate the executable or check Windows services for 'Cerberus FTP Server'Affected if Cerberus FTP Server is installed on the system
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Determine installed versionOpen Cerberus FTP Server Manager or check the application's About/Version information to find the exact version numberAffected if Version is 5.0.3.1 or earlier, or matches one of these: 1.0, 1.01, 1.1, 1.2, 1.02, 1.03, 1.5, 1.05, 1.6, 1.7, 1.22
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Verify SSH is enabledIn Cerberus FTP Server Manager, navigate to Server > Server Settings > SSH settings and confirm SSH protocol is enabledAffected if SSH protocol is enabled and active on the server
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Check DES cipher configurationIn the SSH settings, examine the list of enabled ciphers. Look for 'DES' or 'des-cbc' in the cipher configurationAffected if DES cipher is listed as an enabled cipher for SSH sessions
User is affected if Cerberus FTP Server version is 5.0.3.1 or earlier (or matches specific vulnerable versions listed), SSH is enabled, and DES cipher is currently enabled in the SSH 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 to Cerberus FTP Server 5.0.4.0 or later, or disable the DES cipher in the server configuration and use stronger ciphers such as AES.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-5301 — 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-2012-5301 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data