CVE-2012-1823

Exp

sapi/cgi/cgi_main.c in PHP before 5.3.12 and 5.4.x before 5.4.2, when configured as a CGI script (aka php-cgi), does not properly handle query strings that lack an = (equals sign) character, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by placing command-line options in the query string, related to lack of skipping a certain php_getopt for the 'd' case.

Published: 2012-05-11 Last update: 2026-04-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2012-1823 is rated Critical Active Threat (100/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 100.00%, 100th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-03-25) affecting PHP / PHP. a weakness (CWE-77) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. EPSS rose +5.61% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

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

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2012-1823

Name: PHP-CGI Query String Parameter Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2022-03-25

Action due: 2022-04-15

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2012-1823

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
29316 exploit_db edb 2013-10-31 Exploit-DB ↗
29290 exploit_db edb 2013-10-29 Exploit-DB ↗
18836 exploit_db edb 2012-05-05 Exploit-DB ↗
18834 exploit_db edb 2012-05-04 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— 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-2012-1823

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 94.39% 100.00% +5.61%
2 2025-12-28 94.35% 94.39% +0.04%
3 2025-12-27 — 94.35% —

Full EPSS history (17 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2012-1823

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
 3.9 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2012-1823

OS Trackers for CVE-2012-1823

vendor priority summary link
gentoo high CVE-2012-1823: 1 GLSA(s) (201209-03), 1 atom(s) (dev-lang/php); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2012-1823
redhat critical — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-1823
suse critical CVE-2012-1823 severity critical: SUSE including 644 source package names (apache2-mod_php5, apache2-mod_php5-5.2.14-0.7.30.38.1, …), 689 product×package rows across 17 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Web and Scripting 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1-TERADATA, … (17 product lines)): Fixed 478, Known Not Affected 211. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-1823/
ubuntu medium CVE-2012-1823 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (php5), 6 status rows across 6 suites (hardy, lucid, natty, oneiric, precise, upstream): released 5, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2012-1823

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2012-1823

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
php php < 5.3.12 cpe:2.3:a:php:php:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
php php >= 5.4.0, < 5.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:php:php:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 39 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:39:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 40 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:40:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
hp hp-ux b.11.23 cpe:2.3:o:hp:hp-ux:b.11.23:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
hp hp-ux b.11.31 cpe:2.3:o:hp:hp-ux:b.11.31:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse opensuse 11.4 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse opensuse 12.1 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_server 10 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_server:10:sp4:*:*:-:*:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_server 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_server:11:sp2:*:*:*:-:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_server 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_server:11:sp2:*:*:*:vmware:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_software_development_kit 10 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_software_development_kit:10:sp4:*:*:*:*:*:*
suse linux_enterprise_software_development_kit 11 cpe:2.3:o:suse:linux_enterprise_software_development_kit:11:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple mac_os_x >= 10.6.8, < 10.7.5 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple mac_os_x >= 10.8.0, < 10.8.2 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat application_stack 2.0 cpe:2.3:a:redhat:application_stack:2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat gluster_storage_server_for_on-premise 2.0 cpe:2.3:a:redhat:gluster_storage_server_for_on-premise:2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat storage 2.0 cpe:2.3:a:redhat:storage:2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat storage_for_public_cloud 2.0 cpe:2.3:a:redhat:storage_for_public_cloud:2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_desktop 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_eus 5.6 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_eus 6.1 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_eus 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server 5.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_aus 5.3 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_aus:5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_aus 5.6 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_aus:5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_workstation 5.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_workstation 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2012-1823

URL Tags
http://eindbazen.net/2012/05/php-cgi-advisory-cve-2012-1823/ Broken Link Exploit
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c03360041 Broken Link
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2012/Sep/msg00004.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-05/msg00002.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-05/msg00007.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-05/msg00011.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=134012830914727&w=2 Mailing List
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0546.html Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0547.html Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0568.html Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0569.html Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0570.html Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/49014 Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/49065 Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/49085 Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/49087 Broken Link
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5501 Third Party Advisory
http://www.debian.org/security/2012/dsa-2465 Third Party Advisory
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/520827 Exploit Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/673343 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2012:068 Broken Link
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/06/07/1 Mailing List
http://www.php.net/ChangeLog-5.php#5.4.2 Exploit Patch Release Notes
http://www.php.net/archive/2012.php#id2012-05-03-1 Release Notes
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1027022 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=61910 Exploit Patch
https://bugs.php.net/patch-display.php?bug_id=61910&patch=cgi.diff&revision=1335984315&display=1 Patch
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PKGTQUOA2NTZ3RXN22CSAUJPIRUYRB4B/ Mailing List Release Notes
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/W45DBOH56NQDRTOM2DN2LNA2FZIMC3PK/ Mailing List Release Notes
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/PKGTQUOA2NTZ3RXN22CSAUJPIRUYRB4B/ Mailing List Release Notes
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-1823 US Government Resource
cvelogic Threat Intelligence