# CVE-2012-4550: Missing authorization in Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6 for RHEL 5

> Remote attackers can bypass authorization checks to gain unauthorized access to Enterprise Java Beans when role-based security is configured.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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 Jan 2013
- **Updated:** 14 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gg53-v4gc-qv5q

## What is CVE-2012-4550?

CVE-2012-4550 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform, published on 5 Jan 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in JBoss Enterprise Application Platform. When role-based authorization is used for Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) access, the system does not correctly call the necessary authorization modules. This prevents Java Authorization Contract for Containers (JACC) permissions from being applied, allowing remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to EJBs.

Weakness: CWE-264, CWE-280 (Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-4550?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-4550?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2012-4550 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-4550 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform

- [CVE-2017-12149](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12149/): Red Hat JBoss Application Server Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2010-1428](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-1428/): Red Hat JBoss Information Disclosure (medium 5.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2010-0738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0738/): Red Hat JBoss Authentication Bypass (low 3.7, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2016-3690](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3690/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-7504](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7504/): Deserialization in JBoss (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-4550 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-4550 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform, published on 5 Jan 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-2012-4550 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform. 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-2012-4550/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4550/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-4550
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-4550
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-4550

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4550/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.