# CVE-2012-5381: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges via DLL hijacking if PHP is installed in the root directory and PATH is modified by an administrator.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.0 (`AV:L/AC:H/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Oct 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-cqpw-5cch-w85g

## What is CVE-2012-5381?

CVE-2012-5381 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Php Php, published on 11 Oct 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Untrusted search path vulnerability in the installation functionality in PHP 5.3.17, when installed in the top-level C:\ directory, might allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the C:\PHP directory, which may be added to the PATH system environment variable by an administrator, as demonstrated by a Trojan horse wlbsctrl.dll file used by the "IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules" system service in Windows Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8 Release Preview.  NOTE: CVE disputes this issue because the unsafe PATH is established only by a separate administrative action that is not a default part of the PHP installation

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-5381?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Php Php.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-5381?

No fix has been published for CVE-2012-5381 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2012-5381 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-5381 exists.

Public exploit code:

- IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keyring Modules Service (IKEEXT) - Missing DLL (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Php Php

- [CVE-2012-2688](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2688/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2012-2376](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2376/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2011-3268](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3268/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-4143](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4143/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-5557](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5557/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-5381 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-5381 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Php Php, published on 11 Oct 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-2012-5381 exists.

Affected product: Php Php. 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-2012-5381/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5381/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-5381
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5381
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-5381

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5381/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.