# CVE-2012-1016: Null dereference in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash the Kerberos KDC via a crafted request due to a null pointer dereference in the PKINIT implementation.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 Mar 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-1016, GHSA-677f-pp67-87jc

## What is CVE-2012-1016?

CVE-2012-1016 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mit Kerberos 5, published on 3 Mar 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The pkinit_server_return_padata function in plugins/preauth/pkinit/pkinit_srv.c in the PKINIT implementation in the Key Distribution Center (KDC) in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) before 1.10.4 attempts to find an agility KDF identifier in inappropriate circumstances, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and daemon crash) via a crafted Draft 9 request.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-1016?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mit Kerberos 5.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-1016?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-1016 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-1016 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mit Kerberos 5

- [CVE-2011-0285](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0285/): Use after free in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-0947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-0947/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-5902](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-5902/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-4743](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-4743/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-3999](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-3999/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-1016 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-1016 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mit Kerberos 5, published on 3 Mar 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-1016 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mit Kerberos 5. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1016/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1016/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-1016
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1016
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-1016

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1016/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.