How severe is CVE-2012-3406?

CVE-2012-3406 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 6.8, rated medium severity.

Is CVE-2012-3406 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2012-3406?

CVE-2012-3406 primarily affects Redhat Enterprise Virtualization. In total, 10 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2012-3406?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2012-3406 published?

CVE-2012-3406 was published on 2014-02-10 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

CVE-2012-3406

CVE-2012-3406 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Virtualization with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 6.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-264.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 2.0 base score 6.8)
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (86th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-264
Affected product: Redhat Enterprise Virtualization
Published: 2014-02-10
Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

The vfprintf function in stdio-common/vfprintf.c in GNU C Library (aka glibc) 2.5, 2.12, and probably other versions does not "properly restrict the use of" the alloca function when allocating the SPECS array, which allows context-dependent attackers to bypass the FORTIFY_SOURCE format-string protection mechanism and cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted format string using positional parameters and a large number of format specifiers, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-3404 and CVE-2012-3405.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2012-3406?: The vfprintf function in stdio-common/vfprintf.c in GNU C Library (aka glibc) 2.5, 2.12, and probably other versions does not "properly restrict the use of" the alloca function when allocating the SPECS array, which allows context-dependent attackers to bypass the FORTIFY_SOURCE format-string protection mechanism and cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted format string using positional parameters and a large number of format specifiers, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-3404 and CVE-2012-3405.
How severe is CVE-2012-3406?: CVE-2012-3406 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 6.8, rated medium severity.
Is CVE-2012-3406 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2012-3406?: CVE-2012-3406 primarily affects Redhat Enterprise Virtualization. In total, 10 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2012-3406?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2012-3406 published?: CVE-2012-3406 was published on 2014-02-10 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

Affected products (10)

cpe:2.3:a:gnu:glibc:2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:glibc:2.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:redhat:enterprise_virtualization:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:8.04:-:lts:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:10.04:-:lts:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:11.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:11.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:-:lts:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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