CVE-2012-5821

Exp

Lynx does not verify that the server's certificate is signed by a trusted certification authority, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof SSL servers via a crafted certificate, related to improper use of a certain GnuTLS function.

Published: 2012-11-04 Last update: 2026-04-29 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2012-5821 is rated Exploit Available (53.9/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.24%). Core evidence: 1 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-2012-5821

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2012-5821

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 2025-03-30 0.36% 0.24% -0.12%
2 2025-03-29 0.24% 0.36% +0.12%
3 2025-03-19 0.24%

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2012-5821

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.2 3.6 [email protected]
5.8 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N 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:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
8.6 4.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2012-5821

OS Trackers for CVE-2012-5821

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-5821
ubuntu medium CVE-2012-5821 medium priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (lynx, lynx-cur), 12 status rows across 6 suites (hardy, lucid, oneiric, precise, quantal, upstream): released 5, DNE 4, ignored 2, needed 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2012-5821

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2012-5821

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
lynx lynx cpe:2.3:a:lynx:lynx:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 10.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:10.04:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
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:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 12.10 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2012-5821

cvelogic Threat Intelligence