CVE-2012-4792

Exp

Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 8 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted web site that triggers access to an object that (1) was not properly allocated or (2) is deleted, as demonstrated by a CDwnBindInfo object, and exploited in the wild in December 2012.

Published: 2012-12-30 Last update: 2026-04-22 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2012-4792 is rated Critical Active Threat (95.2/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 78.82%, 100th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2024-07-23) affecting Microsoft / Internet Explorer. a weakness (CWE-416) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. 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-2012-4792

Name: Microsoft Internet Explorer Use-After-Free Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2024-07-23

Action due: 2024-08-13

Required action: The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2012-4792

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
23785 exploit_db edb 2013-01-02 Exploit-DB ↗
23754 exploit_db edb 2012-12-31 Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2012-4792

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 2026-06-16 78.68% 78.82% +0.14%
2 2026-06-15 91.24% 78.68% -12.55%
3 2026-04-28 — 91.24% —

Full EPSS history (43 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2012-4792

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
 2.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
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.
 8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2012-4792

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2012-4792

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft internet_explorer 6 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 7 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 8 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2012-4792

URL Tags
http://blog.fireeye.com/research/2012/12/council-foreign-relations-water-hole-attack-details.html Broken Link
http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2012/12/29/new-vulnerability-affecting-internet-explorer-8-users.aspx Broken Link
http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2012/12/31/microsoft-quot-fix-it-quot-available-for-internet-explorer-6-7-and-8.aspx Broken Link
http://eromang.zataz.com/2012/12/29/attack-and-ie-0day-informations-used-against-council-on-foreign-relations/ Third Party Advisory
http://labs.alienvault.com/labs/index.php/2012/just-another-water-hole-campaign-using-an-internet-explorer-0day/ Broken Link
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/119168/Microsoft-Internet-Explorer-CDwnBindInfo-Object-Use-After-Free.html Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://technet.microsoft.com/security/advisory/2794220 Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/154201 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA13-008A.html Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA13-015A.html Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2013/ms13-008 Patch Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/windows/browser/ie_cbutton_uaf.rb Third Party Advisory
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A16361 Broken Link
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-4792 US Government Resource
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