# CVE-2012-4424: Memory corruption in n/a

> A stack-based buffer overflow in glibc allows attackers to cause a crash or execute arbitrary code via a long string triggering malloc failure.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.1 (`AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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:** 9 Oct 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-4424, GHSA-xmcm-jqgw-pm47

## What is CVE-2012-4424?

CVE-2012-4424 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Gnu Glibc, published on 9 Oct 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Stack-based buffer overflow in string/strcoll_l.c in the GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) 2.17 and earlier allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a long string that triggers a malloc failure and use of the alloca function.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-4424?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gnu Glibc.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-4424?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-4424 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-4424 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2012-4424 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-4424 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Gnu Glibc, published on 9 Oct 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-2012-4424 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2012-4424/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4424/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-4424
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-4424
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-4424

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4424/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.