# CVE-2012-6150: Auth bypass in n/a

> Remote authenticated users can bypass access restrictions in Samba if administrators misconfigure pam_winbind group membership requirements.

- **Severity:** Low 3.6 (`AV:N/AC:H/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 Dec 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-6150, ECHO-27a0-7e44-cd1f, GHSA-65q8-2h4w-pqq6, UBUNTU-CVE-2012-6150

## What is CVE-2012-6150?

CVE-2012-6150 is a low-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 3 Dec 2013. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The winbind_name_list_to_sid_string_list function in nsswitch/pam_winbind.c in Samba through 4.1.2 handles invalid require_membership_of group names by accepting authentication by any user, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions in opportunistic circumstances by leveraging an administrator's pam_winbind configuration-file mistake.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-6150?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Samba Samba.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-6150?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2012-6150 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-6150 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-6150 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-6150 is a low-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 3 Dec 2013. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-6150 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. 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-2012-6150/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-6150/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-6150
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-6150
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-6150

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-6150/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.