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CVE-2012-4381· NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

MediaWiki before 1.18.5, and 1.19.x before 1.19.2 saves passwords in the local database, (1) which could make it easier for context-dependen

MediaWiki before 1.18.5, and 1.19.x before 1.19.2 saves passwords in the local database, (1) which could make it easier for context-dependent attackers to obtain cleartext passwords via a brute-force attack or, (2) when an authentication plugin returns a false in the strict function, could allow remote attackers to use old passwords for non-existing accounts in an external authentication system via unspecified vectors.

HighCVSS 8.1 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Feb 8, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
4.1% · 90th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

33

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
32 / 40 · 8.1 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 4.1%

Affected systems

VendorProduct
mediawikimediawiki

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • mediawiki mediawikibefore 1.18.5
  • mediawiki mediawiki1.19.0 and later · before 1.19.2

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (redhat). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • n/a MediaWiki

    • before 1.18.5, 1.19.x before 1.19.2affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12mediawikibefore 1:1.19.2-11:1.19.2-1

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2022-29904The SemanticDrilldown extension for MediaWiki through 1.37.2 (before e688bdba6434591b5dff689a45e4d53459954773) allows SQL injection with cer
    44Plan
  • CVE-2017-0372Parameters injection in SyntaxHighlight results in multiple vulnerabilities
    42Plan
  • CVE-2017-8809api.php in MediaWiki before 1.27.4, 1.28.x before 1.28.3, and 1.29.x before 1.29.2 has a Reflected File Download vulnerability.
    41Plan
  • CVE-2019-12468An Incorrect Access Control vulnerability was found in Wikimedia MediaWiki 1.27.0 through 1.32.1.
    40Plan
  • CVE-2014-9487The getid3 library in MediaWiki before 1.24.1, 1.23.8, 1.22.15 and 1.19.23 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files, cause a denial o
    40Plan
  • CVE-2015-8009The MWOAuthDataStore::lookup_token function in Extension:OAuth for MediaWiki 1.25.x before 1.25.3, 1.24.x before 1.24.4, and before 1.23.11
    40Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:mediawiki1:1.19.2-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

For convenience in support or manufacturing, an account that is identical on every device is embedded in the software. Credentials learned from one device work on all of them.

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
const SUPPORT_USER = "support";const SUPPORT_PASS = "hardcoded-password";

Fixed

ts
const creds = await provisioning.deviceCredentials(deviceId);if (creds.mustRotate) await forcePasswordChange(deviceId);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

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Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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References

All records