Skip to content
Noroxi
NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

CVE-2012-6152: The Yahoo! protocol plugin in libpurple in Pidgin before 2.10.8 does not properly validate UTF-8 data, which allows remote attackers to…

MediumCVSS 5.0 · v2.0—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 21/100)

  • 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: 3.7% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 90.1% of all records.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: pidgin (Debian:12) 2.10.8-1; finch (Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client) 0:2.6.6-32.el5; libpurple (Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client) 0:2.6.6-32.el5.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to pidgin (Debian:12) 2.10.8-1; finch (Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client) 0:2.6.6-32.el5; libpurple (Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client) 0:2.6.6-32.el5 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

The Yahoo! protocol plugin in libpurple in Pidgin before 2.10.8 does not properly validate UTF-8 data, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via crafted byte sequences.

Published
Feb 6, 2014
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
3.7% · 90th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

21

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
20 / 40 · 5.0 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 3.7%

Get told when this record changes

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

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2012-6152

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

One daily email digest (06:00 UTC); connect a webhook for KEV listings and weaponized exploits every 10 minutes on paid plans, on the hour on the free plan.

Your free account also gets you

  • CVE alerts: add the products and versions you run, get the new CVEs that affect them
  • Uptime monitoring: 1 site, instant email when it goes down
  • Add your domain: subdomains and takeover risk scanned every week (1 domain)
  • 10 scans an hour on the security tools, at most 30 a day (3 a day without an account), an API key and MCP
  • All your scans in one panel: findings, what changed in the last scan, a report per domain or per client (PDF, share link)
All free tools

Sign up with email · Have an account? Sign in

Free account, no card. Unfollow any time.

Is your version affected? Check it

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.

We use this product, ask for help

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
pidginpidgin

Affected versions

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

  • pidgin pidginup to 2.10.7 inclusive
  • pidgin pidgin2.0.0
  • pidgin pidgin2.0.1
  • pidgin pidgin2.0.2
  • pidgin pidgin2.1.0
  • pidgin pidgin2.1.1
  • pidgin pidgin2.10.0
  • pidgin pidgin2.10.1

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12pidginbefore 2.10.8-12.10.8-1
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientfinchbefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientlibpurplebefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientlibpurple-perlbefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientlibpurple-tclbefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientpidginbefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientpidgin-debuginfobefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientpidgin-perlbefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstationfinch-develbefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstationlibpurple-develbefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstationpidgin-develbefore 0:2.6.6-32.el50:2.6.6-32.el5
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientfinchbefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientfinch-develbefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientlibpurplebefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientlibpurple-develbefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientlibpurple-perlbefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientlibpurple-tclbefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientpidginbefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientpidgin-debuginfobefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientpidgin-develbefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientpidgin-docsbefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientpidgin-perlbefore 0:2.7.9-27.el60:2.7.9-27.el6

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2009-2694The msn_slplink_process_msg function in libpurple/protocols/msn/slplink.c in libpurple, as used in Pidgin (formerly Gaim) before 2.5.9 and…
    46Plan
  • CVE-2013-6490The SIMPLE protocol functionality in Pidgin before 2.10.8 allows remote attackers to have an unspecified impact via a negative…
    44Plan
  • CVE-2017-2640An out-of-bounds write flaw was found in the way Pidgin before 2.12.0 processed XML content.
    41Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2013-0273Feb 16, 2013 · sametime.c in the Sametime protocol plugin in libpurple in Pidgin before 2.10.7 does not properly terminate long user IDs, which allows…
    21Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2013-0274Feb 16, 2013 · upnp.c in libpurple in Pidgin before 2.10.7 does not properly terminate long strings in UPnP responses, which allows remote attackers to…
    11Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2013-6477Feb 6, 2014 · Multiple integer signedness errors in libpurple in Pidgin before 2.10.8 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application…
    21Monitor

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:pidgin2.10.8-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
red hat:finch0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:finch-devel0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstationPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:libpurple0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:libpurple-devel0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstationPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:libpurple-perl0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:libpurple-tcl0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:pidgin0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:pidgin-debuginfo0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:pidgin-devel0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstationPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:pidgin-docs0:2.7.9-27.el6 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::clientPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:pidgin-perl0:2.6.6-32.el5 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::clientPackage 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.

Patch and commit links

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

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

Technical details

References

All records