# CVE-2012-5786: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Man-in-the-middle attackers can spoof SSL servers in Apache CXF sample code due to missing hostname verification, bypassing certificate validation.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.8 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Nov 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4267-v6qh-xchc

## What is CVE-2012-5786?

CVE-2012-5786 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apache Cxf, published on 4 Nov 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The wsdl_first_https sample code in distribution/src/main/release/samples/wsdl_first_https/src/main/ in Apache CXF before 2.7.0 does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in the subject's Common Name (CN) or subjectAltName field of the X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof SSL servers via an arbitrary valid certificate. NOTE: The vendor states that the sample had specifically used a flag to bypass the DN check

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-5786?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Apache Cxf.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-5786?

No fix has been published for CVE-2012-5786 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2012-5786 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-5786 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apache Cxf

- [CVE-2012-2379](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2379/): XML Signature/Encryption Not Validated in Apache CXF (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-66909](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-66909/): Apache CXF: Unsafe deserialization of inbound JMS ObjectMessage (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-68079](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68079/): Apache CXF: DefaultEncryptingCodeDataProvider allows unlimited authorization code replay (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-50628](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-50628/): Apache CXF: OAuth2: Inverted IP Binding Check Defeats Security Control (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2025-48913](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-48913/): Apache CXF: Untrusted JMS configuration can lead to RCE (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-5786 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-5786 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apache Cxf, published on 4 Nov 2012. 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-2012-5786 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apache Cxf. 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-2012-5786/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5786/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-5786
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5786
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-5786

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5786/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.