# CVE-2012-3480: Integer overflow in n/a > Integer overflows in glibc string conversion functions allow local attackers to cause denial of service or execute arbitrary code via long strings. - **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 25 Aug 2012 - **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-3480, GHSA-mch7-w8fj-4pc4, RHSA-2012:1207, RHSA-2012:1208 ## What is CVE-2012-3480? CVE-2012-3480 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Glibc, published on 25 Aug 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description Multiple integer overflows in the (1) strtod, (2) strtof, (3) strtold, (4) strtod_l, and other unspecified "related functions" in stdlib in GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) 2.16 allow local users to cause a denial of service (application crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long string, which triggers a stack-based buffer overflow. Weakness: CWE-189 ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-3480? It affects 1 product. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `glibc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-debuginfo-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-headers` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `nscd` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-debuginfo-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-headers` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `nscd` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.5-81.el5_8.7 | | `glibc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-debuginfo-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-headers` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-static` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `nscd` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-debuginfo-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-headers` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-static` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `nscd` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-debuginfo-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | | `glibc-headers` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.12-1.80.el6_3.5 | Products: Gnu Glibc. ## How do I fix CVE-2012-3480? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2012-3480 being exploited? It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-3480 exists. Public exploit code: - GNU glibc - Multiple Local Stack Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities (exploitdb) ## Other vulnerabilities in Gnu Glibc - [CVE-2026-5450](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-5450/): scanf %mc off-by-one heap buffer overflow (critical 9.8) - [CVE-2023-25139](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-25139/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8) - [CVE-1999-0199](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0199/): Other in n/a (critical 9.8) - [CVE-2019-1010022](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1010022/): Security feature bypass in glibc (critical 9.8) - [CVE-2005-3590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3590/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2012-3480 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2012-3480 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Glibc, published on 25 Aug 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-3480 exists. Affected product: Gnu Glibc. 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-2012-3480/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3480/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-3480 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-3480 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-3480 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3480/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.