CVE-2012-5389
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 · uneditedNULL Pointer Dereference in PowerTCP WebServer for ActiveX 1.9.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted HTTP request.
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 confidenceA NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in PowerTCP WebServer for ActiveX versions 1.9.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to crash the application by sending a crafted HTTP request that triggers the NULL pointer dereference during request processing.
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<= 1.9.2CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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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Locate PowerTCP WebServer for ActiveX installationSearch for files named 'PowerTCP WebServer' or 'Dart' related DLL/OCX files on the system, typically found in Program Files or Windows system directories. Check Windows Registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT for components containing 'PowerTCP' or 'Dart' entries.Affected if The component is present on the system
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Determine installed versionRight-click the identified DLL or OCX file, select Properties, and check the Version tab. Alternatively, query the Windows Registry for version information under the component's CLSID entry.Affected if The version is 1.9.2 or lower
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Verify web server is runningOpen Windows Services console (services.msc) and look for any Dart PowerTCP WebServer service, or check running processes for the web server executable.Affected if The web server service or process is active
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Check network exposureUse command line tools such as 'netstat -an' or PowerShell to check if the web server is listening on port 80 or configured HTTP ports (e.g., 8080).Affected if The web server is listening on accessible network ports
A system is affected if PowerTCP WebServer for ActiveX version 1.9.2 or earlier is installed and the web server service is actively running and accessible on the network.
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 a patched version of PowerTCP WebServer for ActiveX if available; otherwise, implement network-level filtering or disable the ActiveX component if not required, and monitor for denial of service attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-5389 — 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-2012-5389 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