What is CVE-2012-6689?

CVE-2012-6689 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, classified as a Improper Access Control flaw (CWE-284). CVE-2012-6689 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2012-6689?

CVE-2012-6689 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2012-6689?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2012-6689. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

Is CVE-2012-6689 actively exploited?

CVE-2012-6689 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Improper Access Control (CWE-284)?

The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorised actor. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/284.html

CVE-2012-6689

High

The netlink_sendmsg function in net/netlink/af_netlink.c in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 does not validate the dst_pid field, which allows local users to have an unspecified impact by spoofing Netlink messages.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2016-05-02

Last modified 2026-05-06

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Awaiting data

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-284

CVE-2012-6689 is a Improper Access Control vulnerability

What is Improper Access Control?

The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorised actor. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2012-6689 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Marc
http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=134522422125983&w=2

Mailing List Third Party Advisory
Marc
http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=134522422925986&w=2

Mailing List Third Party Advisory
Kernel.org
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.5.5

Release Notes Vendor Advisory
Openwall
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/02/22/10

Mailing List Third Party Advisory
Securityfocus
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/72739

Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
Red Hat
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=848949

Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory
Kernel patch commit
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=20e1db19db5d6b9e4e83021595eab0dc8f107bef
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/20e1db19db5d6b9e4e83021595eab0dc8f107bef
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2012-6689

Severity High

CVSS score 7.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2016-05-02

Modified 2026-05-06

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2012-6689?

CVE-2012-6689 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 , classified as an Improper Access Control flaw (CWE-284) . CVE-2012-6689 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2012-6689?

CVE-2012-6689 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2012-6689?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2012-6689. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
Is CVE-2012-6689 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2012-6689 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is Improper Access Control (CWE-284)?

The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorised actor. View CWE-284 on MITRE CWE →