# CVE-2012-4381: Hardcoded credentials in MediaWiki

> MediaWiki stored passwords in cleartext, allowing attackers to obtain credentials via brute-force or use old passwords for non-existing accounts.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Feb 2020
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-4381, GHSA-794f-724h-wf37

## What is CVE-2012-4381?

CVE-2012-4381 is a high-severity vulnerability in Mediawiki Mediawiki, published on 8 Feb 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

MediaWiki before 1.18.5, and 1.19.x before 1.19.2 saves passwords in the local database, (1) which could make it easier for context-dependent attackers to obtain cleartext passwords via a brute-force attack or, (2) when an authentication plugin returns a false in the strict function, could allow remote attackers to use old passwords for non-existing accounts in an external authentication system via unspecified vectors.

Weakness: CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-4381?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mediawiki Mediawiki.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-4381?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-4381 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-4381 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mediawiki Mediawiki

- [CVE-2023-37303](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37303/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-29904](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29904/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-29906](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29906/): Missing authorization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-28205](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-28205/): Business logic in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-28206](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-28206/): Missing authorization in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-4381 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-4381 is a high-severity vulnerability in Mediawiki Mediawiki, published on 8 Feb 2020. 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-2012-4381 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mediawiki Mediawiki. 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-2012-4381/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4381/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-4381
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-4381
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-4381

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4381/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.