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Spss SamplepowerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2012-5946

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-04-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Buffer overflow in the c1sizer ActiveX control in C1sizer.ocx in IBM SPSS SamplePower 3.0 before FP1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long TabCaption string.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the c1sizer ActiveX control (C1sizer.ocx) in IBM SPSS SamplePower 3.0. The TabCaption property does not properly validate input length, allowing a remote attacker to overflow the buffer and execute arbitrary code via a specially crafted web page or HTML document that instantiates the vulnerable ActiveX control.

MitigationApply IBM SPSS SamplePower 3.0 FP1 or later to patch the vulnerable ActiveX control. If patching is not feasible, disable the ActiveX control in Internet Explorer or use the Kill Bit to prevent the control from loading.

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
Spss SamplepowerApplication
Affected:= 3.0.0.0

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/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. Confirm IBM SPSS SamplePower 3.0 installation
    Look for IBM SPSS SamplePower 3.0 in the list of installed programs (Control Panel > Programs and Features) or check the default installation directory typically at C:\Program Files\IBM\SPSS SamplePower\3 or similar paths.
    Affected if IBM SPSS SamplePower version 3.0.0.0 is installed on the system.
  2. Locate the vulnerable C1sizer.ocx file
    Search for the file C1sizer.ocx within the IBM SPSS SamplePower installation directory or the Windows\System32 folder if it was registered there.
    Affected if The C1sizer.ocx file exists on the system.
  3. Check the file version of C1sizer.ocx
    Right-click on C1sizer.ocx, select Properties, and examine the File Version field on the Details tab. Compare this version to the affected version.
    Affected if The file version matches exactly 3.0.0.0 or falls within the affected version range.
  4. Verify if the ActiveX control is registered
    Open Command Prompt and run: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID" /s | findstr /i "C1sizer" to check if the control is registered in the Windows registry.
    Affected if The ActiveX control is registered in the Windows registry, indicating it can be instantiated by web pages.
  5. Check if ActiveX controls are enabled in Internet Explorer
    In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Custom Level and verify the settings under 'ActiveX controls and plugins' section.
    Affected if ActiveX controls are enabled in Internet Explorer, allowing the vulnerable control to be loaded from malicious web pages.

A user is affected if IBM SPSS SamplePower 3.0.0.0 is installed with the C1sizer.ocx ActiveX control present and registered, and ActiveX controls are enabled in Internet Explorer.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply IBM SPSS SamplePower 3.0 FP1 or later to patch the vulnerable ActiveX control. If patching is not feasible, disable the ActiveX control in Internet Explorer or use the Kill Bit to prevent the control from loading.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM SPSS SamplePower 3.0 FP1 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of IBM SPSS SamplePower by checking the program's About or Help menu
  2. 2. Contact IBM Support or visit the official IBM support portal to obtain the Fix Pack 1 (FP1) or later patch for SPSS SamplePower 3.0
  3. 3. Download the appropriate FP1 patch or subsequent fix pack from IBM's official support website
  4. 4. Back up all critical data and configurations before applying the patch
  5. 5. Apply the fix pack following IBM's installation instructions
  6. 6. Restart the application and verify the c1sizer ActiveX control (C1sizer.ocx) has been updated
  7. 7. Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by checking the updated version number
Caveat Review IBM's release notes for any compatibility considerations or feature changes in FP1

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Spss Samplepower Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2012-5946 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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