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Skinny Client Control Protocol SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2012-5445

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-12-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.2 or later.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
The kernel in Cisco Native Unix (CNU) on Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 series devices (aka TNP phones) with software before 9.3.1-ES10 does not properly validate unspecified system calls, which allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory overwrite) via a crafted binary.

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 confidence

The Cisco Native Unix (CNU) kernel on Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 series devices fails to properly validate unspecified system calls, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause memory corruption leading to denial of service via crafted binaries. This is a kernel-level flaw in the phone's embedded firmware that predates version 9.3.1-ES10.

MitigationUpdate Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 series firmware to version 9.3.1-ES10 or later through Cisco Unified Communications Manager or manual firmware deployment, then verify phone functionality and validate the patch resolves the vulnerability.

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
Skinny Client Control Protocol SoftwareOperating system
Affected:<= 9.2\(4\)= 1.0\(1\)= 1.0\(2\)= 1.0\(3\)= 1.0\(4\)= 1.0\(5\)= 1.0\(9\)= 1.1\(1\)= 1.2\(1\)= 1.3\(1\)= 1.3\(2\)= 1.3\(3\)
Unified Ip PhoneHardware / appliance
Affected:= 7906g= 7911g= 7935= 7936= 7940= 7940g= 7941g= 7960= 7960g= 7961g= 7970g= 7971g
Unified Ip Phone 7906gHardware / appliance
Affected:= 7911g= 7941g= 7961g= 7970g= 7971g

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify phone model
    Access the phone's web interface or admin menu and locate the model number under Device Information or similar section
    Affected if model is 7906g, 7911g, 7935, 7936, 7940, 7940g, 7941g, 7960, 7960g, 7961g, 7970g, or 7971g
  2. Check firmware version
    Navigate to the phone's web admin interface or check via Cisco Unified Communications Manager, locate the firmware version field
    Affected if firmware version is any version earlier than 9.3.1-ES10 (the phone runs firmware that predates this release)
  3. Check SCCP software version
    Access the phone's admin page or check the Skinny Client Control Protocol version listed in the device settings or CCM administration
    Affected if SCCP version is 9.2(4) or earlier, OR matches exactly 1.0(1), 1.0(2), 1.0(3), 1.0(4), 1.0(5), 1.0(9), 1.1(1), 1.2(1), 1.3(1), 1.3(2), or 1.3(3)
  4. Verify CNU kernel exposure
    Confirm the phone uses the Cisco Native Unix kernel by checking the system information or firmware build details if accessible
    Affected if the phone runs a CNU-based firmware build (typical for 7900 series phones)

Your environment is affected if you run any of the listed phone models with firmware versions before 9.3.1-ES10 or SCCP versions matching the affected ranges.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 9.2
Interim mitigation

Update Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 series firmware to version 9.3.1-ES10 or later through Cisco Unified Communications Manager or manual firmware deployment, then verify phone functionality and validate the patch resolves the vulnerability.

Fix this in Skinny Client Control Protocol Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,380
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-5445 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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