What is the CVSS score of CVE-2012-4792?

CVE-2012-4792 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 91.4%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2012-4792?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2012-4792. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 91.4%.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2012-4792?

Within 24 hours: Identify all affected systems running Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and apply vendor patches immediately. If patching is delayed, consider network segmentation to limit exposure.

Microsoft CVE-2012-4792

HIGH

Use After Free (CWE-416)

2012-12-30 secure@microsoft.com

RCE Use After Free Memory Corruption Microsoft

8.8

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-416 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components ASVS 5.0 V14 - Configuration Dependency management, component inventory MITRE ATT&CK 2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	High risk. Zero-day exploitation targeted the Council on Foreign Relations website (watering hole) in December 2012, attributed to Chinese APT actors. IE 6-8 were still widely deployed, especially in enterprise environments.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	The Council on Foreign Relations website was compromised to serve an exploit targeting IE 6-8 users. Visitors from targeted organizations (government, defense, policy think tanks) were silently compromised with the Bifrose/Bifrost RAT.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: In CISA KEV with patch available.

Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) Patch available 91.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 26, 2026

Internet Explorer 6 through 8 contain a use-after-free vulnerability in CDwnBindInfo object handling that allows remote code execution through crafted websites, exploited as a zero-day in December 2012.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)

v1 Mar 26, 2026 - 11:18 CVSS 8.8

A use-after-free vulnerability in Internet Explorer's handling of CDwnBindInfo objects enables remote code execution when visiting a malicious website. Exploited as a zero-day in December 2012 targeting specific organizations.

RemediationAI

These IE versions are end-of-life. Migrate to modern browsers (Edge, Chrome, Firefox). Apply Microsoft security update MS13-008 for legacy systems that cannot be upgraded.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The CWE-416 use-after-free occurs when IE improperly frees a CDwnBindInfo object while it is still referenced by other components. Accessing the freed memory through a dangling pointer allows attackers to control execution flow, typically using heap spraying to place shellcode at predictable addresses.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH

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

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

Added to CISA KEV

Oct 22, 2025 - 01:15 cisa

CISA KEV

PoC Detected

Oct 22, 2025 - 01:15 vuln.today

Public exploit code

Patch released

Oct 22, 2025 - 01:15 nvd

Patch available

CVE Published

Dec 30, 2012 - 18:55 nvd

HIGH 8.8

DescriptionCVE.org

Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 8 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted web site that triggers access to an object that (1) was not properly allocated or (2) is deleted, as demonstrated by a CDwnBindInfo object, and exploited in the wild in December 2012.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Organizations using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 face significant risk from CVE-2012-4792, a use-after-free vulnerability rated CVSS 8.8. Successful exploitation could significantly impact the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of affected systems. This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild (KEV-listed) and requires immediate remediation. A patch is available and should be applied as part of regular vulnerability management.

Business Impact: Severe

Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Enable ASLR and DEP where available; (2) Implement network segmentation; (3) Monitor for exploitation indicators.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Threat Score

9.5/10

Composite threat intelligence

EPSS Score

91.4%

Top 0% exploitable

Threat Intel

1 sources

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

9 sources

Confidence: High

NVD

CVE.org

CISA KEV

EPSS POC (1) THREAT

Exploit-DB

GitHub

VulDB Metasploit

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity HIGH

CISA KEV Yes

Public POC Yes

EPSS 91.4%

Patch available Yes

Active threat Yes

Deciding rule

In CISA KEV with patch available

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Immediate

Exploitation· derived

Active

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Human Impact

Very High

Priority Score

230

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: +50

EPSS: +91

CVSS: +44

PoC: +20

Weaponized: +15

Threat intel: +10

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Use After Free HIGH

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory Corruption HIGH

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Remote Code Execution CRITICAL

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.