CVE-2012-6689 Missing authorization in n/a

What is CVE-2012-6689?

CVE-2012-6689 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 2 May 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

The netlink_sendmsg function in net/netlink/af_netlink.c in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 does not validate the dst_pid field, which allows local users to have an unspecified impact by spoofing Netlink messages.

Weakness: CWE-284

Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-6689?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2012-6689?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.

Is CVE-2012-6689 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-6689 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2012-6689, GHSA-w4w5-pfmx-65jc.