# CVE-2012-3292: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Remote attackers can gain privileges by logging in with a non-existent user, causing GridFTP to run as the last user in the password file.

- **Severity:** High 7.6 (`AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Jun 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-3292, DSA-2523-1, GHSA-5qc5-pr45-rv6r

## What is CVE-2012-3292?

CVE-2012-3292 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Jun 2012. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The GridFTP in Globus Toolkit (GT) before 5.2.2, when certain autoconf macros are defined, does not properly check the return value from the getpwnam_r function, which might allow remote attackers to gain privileges by logging in with a user that does not exist, which causes GridFTP to run as the last user in the password file.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-3292?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Globus Globus Toolkit.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-3292?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-3292 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-3292 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2007-2784](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-2784/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2011-0738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0738/): Security feature bypass in n/a (medium 4.3)
- [CVE-2006-4233](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-4233/): Path traversal in n/a (low 3.6)
- [CVE-2006-4232](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-4232/): Race condition in n/a (low 1.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-3292 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-3292 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Jun 2012. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-3292 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2012-3292/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3292/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-3292
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-3292
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-3292

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3292/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.