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MariaDBDatabase / datastore

CVE-2012-5615

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-12-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Oracle MySQL 5.5.38 and earlier, 5.6.19 and earlier, and MariaDB 5.5.28a, 5.3.11, 5.2.13, 5.1.66, and possibly other versions, generates different error messages with different time delays depending on whether a user name exists, which allows remote attackers to enumerate valid usernames.

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

MySQL and MariaDB versions prior to the fixes generate distinct error messages and response delays when authenticating with valid versus invalid usernames. An attacker can exploit this timing and message difference to enumerate valid database user accounts through repeated authentication probes.

MitigationConfigure the database server to return identical error messages and timing for both valid and invalid usernames, or implement rate limiting/account lockout policies to thwart automated enumeration attempts.

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
MariaDBDatabase / datastore
Affected:= 5.1.66= 5.2.13= 5.3.11= 5.5.28a
MySQLDatabase / datastore
Affected:= 5.5.19

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify the installed database server version
    Run `mysql --version` or `mariadb --version` from the command line, or query `SELECT VERSION();` if you have admin access
    Affected if The version matches MariaDB 5.1.66, 5.2.13, 5.3.11, 5.5.28a or MySQL 5.5.19 exactly, or falls within any pre-patch release below these versions
  2. Test authentication response with a non-existent username
    Attempt MySQL connection using a username that does not exist in the database (e.g., `mysql -u nonexistentuser -p`), note the exact error message and measure response time
    Affected if The server returns any error message or exhibits measurable delay
  3. Test authentication response with a valid username but incorrect password
    Attempt MySQL connection using a known valid database username with an incorrect password, note the exact error message and measure response time
    Affected if The server returns an error message that differs in wording from the non-existent username attempt, or response timing differs noticeably
  4. Compare error message content
    Review the exact text returned from both authentication attempts side by side
    Affected if The error messages are not identical in wording, such as one saying 'Access denied' versus 'Unknown user' or similar distinguishing language
  5. Compare authentication timing
    Measure the time elapsed between sending each authentication request and receiving a response using a stopwatch or script
    Affected if There is a measurable difference in response time between the two attempts, with valid usernames responding faster or slower than invalid ones

If your installed version is among the affected releases AND the authentication responses for valid versus invalid usernames differ in either error message content or response timing, your environment is vulnerable to user enumeration via this CVE.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Configure the database server to return identical error messages and timing for both valid and invalid usernames, or implement rate limiting/account lockout policies to thwart automated enumeration attempts.

Fix this in MariaDB Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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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-2012-5615 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
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