# CVE-2012-6124: Weak cryptography in chicken

> A casting error in the Chicken Scheme compiler caused the random number generator to return constant values, potentially weakening cryptographic operations if misused.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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:** 31 Oct 2019
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-6124, GHSA-59j9-qv68-3xx5

## What is CVE-2012-6124?

CVE-2012-6124 is a medium-severity vulnerability in chicken, published on 31 Oct 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A casting error in Chicken before 4.8.0 on 64-bit platform caused the random number generator to return a constant value. NOTE: the vendor states "This function wasn't used for security purposes (and is advertised as being unsuitable)."

Weakness: CWE-338 (Use of Cryptographically Weak Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG))

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-6124?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Call-Cc Chicken.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-6124?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-6124 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-6124 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in chicken

- [CVE-2022-45145](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-45145/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-6310](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-6310/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2012-6125](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-6125/): Denial of service in chicken (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-6830](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6830/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2013-2024](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2024/): Command injection in chicken (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-6124 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-6124 is a medium-severity vulnerability in chicken, published on 31 Oct 2019. 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-2012-6124 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: chicken. 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-2012-6124/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-6124/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-6124
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-6124
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-6124

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-6124/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.