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NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

CVE-2012-4418: Apache Axis2 allows remote attackers to forge messages and bypass authentication via an "XML Signature wrapping attack."

MediumCVSS 5.8 · v2.0—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 25/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 5.9% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 93.4% of all records.
  • Fixed version: org.apache.axis2:axis2 (Maven) 1.7.9.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to org.apache.axis2:axis2 (Maven) 1.7.9 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Published
Oct 9, 2012
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
5.9% · 93th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

25

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
23 / 40 · 5.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
2 / 30 · 5.9%

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  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
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  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
apacheaxis2

Affected versions

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

  • apache axis2all versions

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Mavenorg.apache.axis2:axis2before 1.7.91.7.9

Same product

apache: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2010-0219Apache Axis2, as used in dswsbobje.war in SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.2, CA ARCserve D2D r15, and other products, has a default…
    67This week
  • CVE-2012-5351Apache Axis2 allows remote attackers to forge messages and bypass authentication via a SAML assertion that lacks a Signature element, aka a…
    27Monitor
  • CVE-2010-2103Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in axis2-admin/axis2-admin/engagingglobally in the administration console in Apache Axis2/Java 1.4.
    27Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • Later →CVE-2012-5785Nov 4, 2012 · Apache Axis2/Java 1.6.2 and earlier does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in the subject's Common Name (CN) or…
    24Monitor

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
Maven:org.apache.axis2:axis21.7.9Package 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.

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

    If successful

    Confidentiality
    P · data can be read
    Integrity
    P · data or configuration can be modified
    Availability
    none
    Attack complexity
    M
    Confidentiality impact
    P
    Integrity impact
    P
    Availability impact
    None

    Weakness class (CWE)

    CWE-287 · Improper Authentication

    CVSS vector

    AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N

    nvd-primary

    Root cause

    Authentication is added route by route instead of being enforced in one place. When a route added later bypasses the shared middleware, the session check never runs for it.

    The bug in code

    The whole CWE-287 class

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

    Vulnerable

    ts
    app.use("/admin", requireSession, adminRouter);
// Route added later skips the middlewareapp.post("/admin-api/config", updateConfig);

    Fixed

    ts
    const admin = express.Router();admin.use(requireSession, requireRole("admin"));
admin.post("/config", updateConfig);app.use("/admin", admin);

    Attack context

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

    References

    Show all references (3 more)

    Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

    All records