CVE-2012-0572 in MySQL Server
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Server component in Oracle MySQL 5.1.66 and earlier and 5.5.28 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to affect availability via unknown vectors related to InnoDB.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/22/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0572 represents a critical availability issue within Oracle MySQL Server's InnoDB storage engine implementation. This weakness affects multiple versions of the MySQL database system including 5.1.66 and earlier releases, as well as 5.5.28 and earlier versions, making it a widespread concern across numerous production environments. The vulnerability specifically resides within the Server component of MySQL and impacts the InnoDB storage engine which is responsible for transactional database operations and data integrity management. The unspecified nature of the exact attack vectors makes this vulnerability particularly concerning for security professionals who must assess potential risks without clear technical details about how exploitation occurs.
The technical flaw manifests in how InnoDB handles certain database operations that can lead to system instability and potential denial of service conditions. While the precise mechanisms remain undisclosed in the CVE description, the vulnerability's impact on availability suggests that authenticated attackers can manipulate database processes to cause system crashes, resource exhaustion, or other conditions that prevent legitimate users from accessing database services. This type of vulnerability typically operates at the database engine level where low-level operations can trigger memory corruption, deadlock conditions, or resource management failures that cascade into broader system availability issues. The InnoDB storage engine's complex transaction handling and locking mechanisms provide potential attack surfaces where malicious input or specific operation sequences can cause unexpected behavior that affects the entire database server's operational capacity.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to database availability and business continuity. Organizations running affected MySQL versions face potential downtime and service disruption when authenticated users exploit this weakness, even if the attack requires legitimate credentials to execute. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as database availability issues can cascade through application stacks, affecting web applications, enterprise systems, and automated processes that depend on database connectivity. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not need physical access to the system, and the authenticated requirement reduces the barrier to exploitation compared to attacks requiring administrative privileges. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where database users have broad access rights or where credential compromise is a concern.
Security mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-0572 focus primarily on immediate remediation through patching and updating to supported MySQL versions that address the InnoDB availability issues. Organizations should prioritize updating their MySQL installations to versions beyond the affected releases, typically requiring patching to MySQL 5.1.67 or 5.5.29 and later. System administrators should implement proper access controls and user privilege management to minimize the risk of authenticated users exploiting this vulnerability, including regular credential rotation and principle of least privilege enforcement. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect unusual database activity patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-119 which addresses memory corruption issues, and may relate to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and denial of service operations. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify systems running unsupported MySQL versions and ensure comprehensive protection against similar availability-focused threats in database environments.