# CVE-2012-2143: Weak cryptography in n/a

> A flaw in FreeBSD's DES-based crypt function allows attackers to bypass authentication using truncated passwords, potentially leading to unauthorized access.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 5 Jul 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6rxj-38xv-j69g, RHSA-2012:1036

## What is CVE-2012-2143?

CVE-2012-2143 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 5 Jul 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The crypt_des (aka DES-based crypt) function in FreeBSD before 9.0-RELEASE-p2, as used in PHP, PostgreSQL, and other products, does not process the complete cleartext password if this password contains a 0x80 character, which makes it easier for context-dependent attackers to obtain access via an authentication attempt with an initial substring of the intended password, as demonstrated by a Unicode password.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-2143?

It affects 4 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `postgresql` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-contrib` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-python` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-tcl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-pl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-server` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-test` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-contrib` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-pl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-python` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-server` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-tcl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |
| `postgresql-test` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:8.1.23-5.el5_8 |

Products: Debian Debian Linux, Freebsd Freebsd, Php Php, Postgresql Postgresql.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-2143?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-2143 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-2143 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-2143 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-2143 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 5 Jul 2012. 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-2012-2143 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2012-2143/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2143/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-2143
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-2143
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-2143

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2143/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.