What is CVE-2012-6704?

CVE-2012-6704 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, classified as a Buffer Overflow flaw (CWE-119). CVE-2012-6704 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2012-6704?

CVE-2012-6704 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-2012-6704?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2012-6704. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

Is CVE-2012-6704 actively exploited?

CVE-2012-6704 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)?

The product performs operations on a memory buffer but reads or writes outside its intended boundaries. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/119.html

CVE-2012-6704

High

The sock_setsockopt function in net/core/sock.c in the Linux kernel before 3.5 mishandles negative values of sk_sndbuf and sk_rcvbuf, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact by leveraging the CAP_NET_ADMIN capability for a crafted setsockopt system call with the (1) SO_SNDBUF or (2) SO_RCVBUF option.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2016-12-28

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-119

CVE-2012-6704 is a Buffer Overflow vulnerability

What is Buffer Overflow?

The product performs operations on a memory buffer but reads or writes outside its intended boundaries. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2012-6704 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Openwall
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/12/03/1

Mailing List Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
Securityfocus
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95135

Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
Red Hat
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1402024

Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory
Kernel patch commit
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=82981930125abfd39d7c8378a9cfdf5e1be2002b
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/82981930125abfd39d7c8378a9cfdf5e1be2002b
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2012-6704

Severity High

CVSS score 7.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2016-12-28

Modified 2026-05-06

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2012-6704?

CVE-2012-6704 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 , classified as a Buffer Overflow flaw (CWE-119) . CVE-2012-6704 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2012-6704?

CVE-2012-6704 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-2012-6704?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2012-6704. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
Is CVE-2012-6704 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2012-6704 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)?

The product performs operations on a memory buffer but reads or writes outside its intended boundaries. View CWE-119 on MITRE CWE →