# CVE-2012-5615: Information disclosure in n/a

> Remote attackers can enumerate valid usernames by analyzing timing differences in error messages, exposing user account existence.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/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:** 3 Dec 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7ccw-fmfw-7xm6, UBUNTU-CVE-2012-5615

## What is CVE-2012-5615?

CVE-2012-5615 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mariadb Mariadb, published on 3 Dec 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Oracle MySQL 5.5.38 and earlier, 5.6.19 and earlier, and MariaDB 5.5.28a, 5.3.11, 5.2.13, 5.1.66, and possibly other versions, generates different error messages with different time delays depending on whether a user name exists, which allows remote attackers to enumerate valid usernames.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-5615?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Mariadb Mariadb, Oracle Mysql.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-5615?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-5615 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-5615 exists.

Public exploit code:

- MySQL 5.1/5.5 (Windows) - 'MySQLJackpot' Remote Command Execution (exploitdb)
- MySQL - Remote User Enumeration (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Mariadb Mariadb

- [CVE-2026-49261](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-49261/): MariaDB server has unsafe parameter handling in `wsrep_notify_cmd` (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-85746](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85746/): MariaDB: Out-of-bound buffer write on in `ST_AsText` of nested GeometryCollections (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-85748](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85748/): MariaDB: Use-after-free with a large number of SYS_REFCURSOR's (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-92262](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-92262/): MariaDB: Numerous issues caused by historical #mysql50# tablename encoding bypass. (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2023-26785](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-26785/): Code injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-5615 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-5615 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mariadb Mariadb, published on 3 Dec 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-5615 exists.

Affected product: Mariadb Mariadb. 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-2012-5615/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5615/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-5615
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5615
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-5615

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5615/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.