# CVE-2012-4731: Missing authorization in n/a

> Authenticated users can bypass rights checks to create arbitrary articles in any class within the RTFM FAQ manager.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **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:** 11 Nov 2012
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-4731, DSA-2568-1, GHSA-8fxh-jgx8-hfm7

## What is CVE-2012-4731?

CVE-2012-4731 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 11 Nov 2012. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

FAQ manager for Request Tracker (RTFM) before 2.4.5 does not properly check user rights, which allows remote authenticated users to create arbitrary articles in arbitrary classes via unknown vectors.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-4731?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Bestpractical Rtfm.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-4731?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-4731 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-4731 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-4731 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-4731 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 11 Nov 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-2012-4731 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-2012-4731/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4731/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-4731
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-4731
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-4731

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4731/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.