CVE-2012-1097

The regset (aka register set) feature in the Linux kernel before 3.2.10 does not properly handle the absence of .get and .set methods, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a (1) PTRACE_GETREGSET or (2) PTRACE_SETREGSET ptrace call.

Published: 2012-05-17 Last update: 2026-04-29 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2012-1097 is rated Low Risk (38.6/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.08%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2012-1097

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 2025-03-17 0.04% 0.08% +0.04%
2 2023-03-07 1.28% 0.04% -1.24%
3 2023-02-13 1.28%

Full EPSS history (5 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2012-1097

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.2 2.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/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:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
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.
3.9 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2012-1097

OS Trackers for CVE-2012-1097

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-1097
ubuntu medium CVE-2012-1097 medium priority: Ubuntu including 29 source packages (linux, linux-armadaxp, …), 353 status rows across 17 suites (hardy, lucid, maverick, natty, oneiric, precise, quantal, raring, saucy, trusty, upstream, utopic, vivid, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): DNE 252, not-affected 51, released 39, ignored 11. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2012-1097

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2012-1097

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel < 3.0.24 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 3.1, < 3.2.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 4.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_mrg 2.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_mrg:2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_desktop 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_desktop:11:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_desktop 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_desktop:11:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_high_availability_extension 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_high_availability_extension:11:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_high_availability_extension 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_high_availability_extension:11:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_server 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_server:11:sp1:*:*:*:vmware:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_server 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_server:11:sp1:*:*:-:*:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_server 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_server:11:sp2:*:*:*:vmware:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_server 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_server:11:sp2:*:*:-:*:*:*

References for CVE-2012-1097

URL Tags
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=c8e252586f8d5de906385d8cf6385fee289a825e
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-04/msg00021.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-05/msg00013.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0481.html Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0531.html Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/48842 Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/48898 Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/48964 Broken Link
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.2.10 Mailing List Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/03/05/1 Mailing List Patch Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=799209 Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/c8e252586f8d5de906385d8cf6385fee289a825e Patch Third Party Advisory
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