OpenjdkApplication · Oracle
CVE-2012-5373
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 · uneditedOracle Java SE 7 and earlier, and OpenJDK 7 and earlier, computes hash values without properly restricting the ability to trigger hash collisions predictably, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) via crafted input to an application that maintains a hash table, as demonstrated by a universal multicollision attack against the MurmurHash3 algorithm, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-2739.
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 confidenceThis is a hash collision DoS vulnerability in Oracle Java SE 7 and earlier, and OpenJDK 7 and earlier. The implementation computes hash values without restricting the ability to trigger predictable hash collisions, allowing attackers to cause CPU exhaustion by submitting crafted input to applications that maintain hash tables. The vulnerability is specifically associated with a universal multicollision attack against the MurmurHash3 algorithm.
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
OpenjdkApplication
<= 1.7.0<= 1.7.0<= 1.7.0CVSS 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
- 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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Check installed Java versionRun 'java -version' or 'java -fullversion' from command lineAffected if Version displays 1.7.0 or earlier, or any version <= 7 (e.g., 1.6.x, 1.5.x)
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Identify Java vendor and exact versionRun 'java -version 2>&1' and check if it shows OpenJDK, Oracle JDK, or Oracle JRE, then compare to the specific version number shownAffected if The displayed version is 1.7.0, 1.6.0, 1.5.0 or any version in the 1.7.x or earlier line
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Verify Java runtime is being used by your applicationCheck process list or application startup scripts to confirm Java is the runtime environment (look for java.exe or java processes, or check for -jar or classpath arguments)Affected if Your application runs on a Java JDK or JRE that matches the affected version range
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Confirm hash-based collections are in useReview application code or dependencies for use of HashMap, HashSet, Hashtable, or similar hash-based collection typesAffected if The application uses Java's built-in hash collection classes which rely on the vulnerable hash implementation
You are affected if your environment runs Oracle Java (JDK/JRE) or OpenJDK version 1.7.0 or earlier, regardless of whether your specific application code directly invokes MurmurHash3, since the vulnerable hash algorithm affects all hash-based collections.
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 Java 7 Update 6 or later (or Java 8+) which implements hash randomization and uses a different hash algorithm to mitigate collision-based DoS attacks. Alternatively, implement application-level rate limiting as a temporary workaround.
Fix this in Openjdk
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,128.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-5373 — 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-2012-5373 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
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