SatelliteApplication · Redhat
CVE-2012-5562
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 · uneditedA flaw was found in rhn-proxy. This vulnerability may allow the rhn-proxy to transmit user credentials in clear-text when it accesses RHN Satellite. This could lead to information disclosure, where sensitive authentication details are exposed to unauthorized parties.
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 confidenceThe rhn-proxy component in Red Hat Network Satellite transmits user authentication credentials in clear-text over the network when communicating with RHN Satellite servers. An attacker with network visibility can intercept these credentials, leading to unauthorized access to the RHN infrastructure.
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
SatelliteApplication
< 5.6CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/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 if rhn-proxy is deployedCheck for the presence of the rhn-proxy component in your Red Hat Satellite installation. This may be found in the Satellite server's component list, or by searching for processes or services named 'rhn-proxy' running on the system.Affected if rhn-proxy component is present in the environment
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Determine Satellite versionRun the command to check the Red Hat Satellite version. On the Satellite server, this is typically obtained via 'rhn-version' command or by checking the /etc/redhat-release file, or through the Satellite web UI under the version information section.Affected if Satellite version is lower than 5.6 (e.g., 5.5, 5.4, etc.)
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Verify network communication configurationInspect the configuration files for rhn-proxy to determine how it communicates with RHN Satellite servers. Look for configuration parameters related to server URLs, typically in files under /etc/rhn/ or within the Satellite web interface under the proxy settings.Affected if Communication is configured to use HTTP (non-SSL) rather than HTTPS
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Capture and inspect network trafficUse a network packet capture tool (such as tcpdump or Wireshark) on the network segment between rhn-proxy and the RHN Satellite server to observe traffic. Filter for traffic on port 80/HTTP and examine whether authentication credentials are transmitted as plaintext.Affected if User authentication credentials are observed in clear-text within captured network packets
You are affected if rhn-proxy is present, your Satellite version is below 5.6, and credentials are transmitted in clear-text instead of encrypted channels.
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 data5.6
Implement TLS/SSL encryption for all communications between rhn-proxy and RHN Satellite, or upgrade to a patched version that enforces encrypted credential transmission.
Fix this in Satellite
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-5562 — 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-2012-5562 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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