CVE-2012-1146

Exp

The mem_cgroup_usage_unregister_event function in mm/memcontrol.c in the Linux kernel before 3.2.10 does not properly handle multiple events that are attached to the same eventfd, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact by registering memory threshold events.

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

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2012-1146 is rated Exploit Available (51.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.52%). Core evidence: 3 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: 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-2012-1146

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2012-1146

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 2026-06-15 0.07% 0.52% +0.45%
2 2025-03-17 0.04% 0.07% +0.03%
3 2023-03-07 0.04%

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2012-1146

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]
4.9 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
3.9 6.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2012-1146

OS Trackers for CVE-2012-1146

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-1146
ubuntu medium CVE-2012-1146 medium priority: Ubuntu including 26 source packages (linux, linux-armadaxp, …), 301 status rows across 16 suites (hardy, lucid, maverick, natty, oneiric, precise, quantal, saucy, trusty, upstream, utopic, vivid, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): DNE 208, not-affected 50, released 34, ignored 9. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2012-1146

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2012-1146

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel < 3.2.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 16 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
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-2012-1146

URL Tags
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=371528caec553785c37f73fa3926ea0de84f986f
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-March/075781.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-04/msg00021.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
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/2012/03/07/3 Exploit Mailing List Patch Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=800813 Exploit Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/73711 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/371528caec553785c37f73fa3926ea0de84f986f Exploit Patch Third Party Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence