CVE-2012-0056 Privilege escalation in n/a

What is CVE-2012-0056?

CVE-2012-0056 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Jan 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

The mem_write function in the Linux kernel before 3.2.2, when ASLR is disabled, does not properly check permissions when writing to /proc/<pid>/mem, which allows local users to gain privileges by modifying process memory, as demonstrated by Mempodipper.

Weakness: CWE-264

Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-0056?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2012-0056?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2012-0056 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-0056 exists.

Public exploit code: 2 Exploit-DB entries and 2 proofs of concept on GitHub.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-h6ww-x4xv-2vj2, RHSA-2012:0052, RHSA-2012:0061.