# CVE-2012-5638: Misconfiguration in n/a

> Local attackers can overwrite SANLock logs or bypass disk quotas due to world-writable log file permissions.

- **Severity:** Low 3.6 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 Dec 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-5638, GHSA-48rw-xq3g-hfw6, RHBA-2012:1507

## What is CVE-2012-5638?

CVE-2012-5638 is a low-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Dec 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The setup_logging function in log.h in SANLock uses world-writable permissions for /var/log/sanlock.log, which allows local users to overwrite the file content or bypass intended disk-quota restrictions via standard filesystem write operations.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-5638?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `sanlock` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::hypervisor | All versions | 0:2.3-4.el6_3 |
| `sanlock-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::hypervisor | All versions | 0:2.3-4.el6_3 |
| `sanlock-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::hypervisor | All versions | 0:2.3-4.el6_3 |
| `sanlock-lib` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::hypervisor | All versions | 0:2.3-4.el6_3 |
| `sanlock-python` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::hypervisor | All versions | 0:2.3-4.el6_3 |

Products: Ovirt Sanlock.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-5638?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2012-5638 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-5638 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-5638 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-5638 is a low-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Dec 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-5638 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-2012-5638/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5638/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-5638
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5638
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-5638

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5638/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.