CVE-2012-0056

Exp

The mem_write function in the Linux kernel before 3.2.2, when ASLR is disabled, does not properly check permissions when writing to /proc/<pid>/mem, which allows local users to gain privileges by modifying process memory, as demonstrated by Mempodipper.

Published: 2012-01-27 Last update: 2026-04-29 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2012-0056 is rated High Exploit Risk (72.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 64.29%, 98th percentile). 2 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2012-0056

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
18411 exploit_db edb 2012-01-23 Exploit-DB ↗
35161 exploit_db edb 2012-01-12 Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2012-0056

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-16 73.86% 64.29% -9.57%
2 2026-04-20 76.33% 73.86% -2.46%
3 2026-04-02 — 76.33% —

Full EPSS history (22 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2012-0056

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.9 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 3.4 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2012-0056

OS Trackers for CVE-2012-0056

vendor priority summary link
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-0056
ubuntu medium CVE-2012-0056 medium priority: Ubuntu including 25 source packages (linux, linux-aws, …), 286 status rows across 16 suites (hardy, lucid, maverick, natty, oneiric, precise, quantal, saucy, trusty, upstream, utopic, vivid, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): DNE 196, not-affected 55, released 28, ignored 7. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2012-0056

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2012-0056

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 2.6.39, < 3.0.18 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 3.1, < 3.2.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2012-0056

URL Tags
http://blog.zx2c4.com/749 Third Party Advisory
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=e268337dfe26dfc7efd422a804dbb27977a3cccc Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/47708 Broken Link
http://ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1336-1 Third Party Advisory
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/470151 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.2.2 Vendor Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/01/18/1 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/01/18/2 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/01/19/4 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/01/22/4 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2012-0052.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2012-0061.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/51625 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=782642 Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory
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