CVE-2012-3489

The xml_parse function in the libxml2 support in the core server component in PostgreSQL 8.3 before 8.3.20, 8.4 before 8.4.13, 9.0 before 9.0.9, and 9.1 before 9.1.5 allows remote authenticated users to determine the existence of arbitrary files or URLs, and possibly obtain file or URL content that triggers a parsing error, via an XML value that refers to (1) a DTD or (2) an entity, related to an XML External Entity (aka XXE) issue.

Published: 2012-10-03 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2012-3489 is rated Moderate Risk (58.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 3.06%). EPSS rose +2.33% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

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-2012-3489

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 0.72% 3.06% +2.33%
2 2026-06-08 1.04% 0.72% -0.31%
3 2025-03-30 — 1.04% —

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2012-3489

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N 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: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:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.8 3.6 [email protected]
4.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N 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:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
 8.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2012-3489

OS Trackers for CVE-2012-3489

vendor priority summary link
gentoo normal CVE-2012-3489: 1 GLSA(s) (201209-24), 1 atom(s) (dev-db/postgresql-server); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2012-3489
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-3489
ubuntu medium CVE-2012-3489 medium priority: Ubuntu including 4 source packages (postgresql-8.2, postgresql-8.3, postgresql-8.4, postgresql-9.1), 44 status rows across 11 suites (hardy, lucid, natty, oneiric, precise, quantal, raring, saucy, trusty, upstream, utopic): DNE 29, released 7, needs-triage 3, not-affected 3, ignored 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2012-3489

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2012-3489

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
postgresql postgresql >= 8.3.0, < 8.3.20 cpe:2.3:a:postgresql:postgresql:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
postgresql postgresql >= 8.4.0, < 8.4.13 cpe:2.3:a:postgresql:postgresql:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
postgresql postgresql >= 9.0.0, < 9.0.9 cpe:2.3:a:postgresql:postgresql:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
postgresql postgresql >= 9.1.0, < 9.1.5 cpe:2.3:a:postgresql:postgresql:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse opensuse 11.4 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse opensuse 12.1 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse opensuse 12.2 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:12.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple mac_os_x_server >= 10.7.0, <= 10.7.5 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple mac_os_x_server 10.6.8 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x_server:10.6.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 8.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:8.04:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 10.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:10.04:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 11.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:11.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 11.10 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:11.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 12.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_desktop 5.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_desktop 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_eus 6.3 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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_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-2012-3489

URL Tags
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2013/Mar/msg00002.html Mailing List
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-09/msg00102.html Mailing List
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-10/msg00013.html Mailing List
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-10/msg00024.html Mailing List
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1263.html Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/50635 Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/50718 Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/50859 Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/50946 Broken Link
http://www.debian.org/security/2012/dsa-2534 Mailing List
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2012:139 Broken Link
http://www.postgresql.org/about/news/1407/ Vendor Advisory
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.3/static/release-8-3-20.html Release Notes
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.4/static/release-8-4-13.html Release Notes
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.0/static/release-9-0-9.html Release Notes
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.1/static/release-9-1-5.html Release Notes
http://www.postgresql.org/support/security/ Release Notes Vendor Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/55074 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1542-1 Third Party Advisory
https://blogs.oracle.com/sunsecurity/entry/multiple_vulnerabilities_in_postgresql2 Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=849173 Issue Tracking Patch Release Notes
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