CVE-2012-6452
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 · uneditedAxway Secure Messenger before 6.5 Updated Release 7, as used in Axway Email Firewall, provides different responses to authentication requests depending on whether the user exists, which allows remote attackers to enumerate users via a series of requests.
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 confidenceAxway Secure Messenger before version 6.5 Updated Release 7 returns different authentication error messages for valid versus invalid usernames, allowing remote attackers to enumerate valid user accounts through a series of authentication 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 dataall versions<= 6.5.0= 6.3.2CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Axway productsCheck system for installed Axway Secure Messenger or Axway Email Firewall. Look in Program Files for Axway directories, check Windows Services, or query installed software list.Affected if Either Axway Secure Messenger version <= 6.5.0 or = 6.3.2 is found, or Axway Email Firewall of any version is found
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Determine Secure Messenger versionLocate the Secure Messenger installation directory and check version file, or use the application's About/Help menu to view version information. Common locations: C:\Program Files\Axway\SecureMessenger\Affected if Version is 6.5.0 or earlier, or version equals 6.3.2 exactly
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Test authentication response behaviorAttempt to authenticate with the web interface or client using a known-valid username versus a random invalid username. Observe the error messages returned for each attempt.Affected if Error messages differ between valid and invalid usernames (e.g., 'Invalid password for user X' vs 'User X does not exist')
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Verify remote access is enabledCheck if the web-based login interface or remote access service is exposed and accessible from network. Review firewall rules and service configuration.Affected if Remote authentication interface is accessible from network
You are affected if Axway Secure Messenger <= 6.5.0 or = 6.3.2, or Axway Email Firewall of any version is running and the authentication returns different error messages for valid versus invalid usernames.
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 Axway Secure Messenger 6.5 Updated Release 7 or later, which implements uniform authentication responses regardless of user existence.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-6452 — 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-2012-6452 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data