CVE-2012-4381Network attack vector

Credential exposure and login bypass via local storage

Published Feb 8, 2020 · Updated Aug 6, 2024

Credential exposure in Wikimedia Foundation MediaWiki before 1.18.5 and 1.19.x before 1.19.2 allows attackers to recover external passwords. Core always persists a local password hash in user_password even when an authentication extension handles login, and strict() returning false falls back to that stored value. A database compromise exposes hashes for offline brute force, while an external-authentication deployment that permits local fallback accepts an old password for an account deleted from the external system.

CVSS severity8.1
High
EPSS probability4.06%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Credential exposure in Wikimedia Foundation MediaWiki before 1.18.5 and 1.19.x before 1.19.2 allows attackers to recover external passwords. Core always persists a local password hash in user_password even when an authentication extension handles login, and strict() returning false falls back to that stored value. A database compromise exposes hashes for offline brute force, while an external-authentication deployment that permits local fallback accepts an old password for an account deleted from the external system.

The record

CVE
CVE-2012-4381
Published
Feb 8, 2020
Updated
Aug 6, 2024
Vendor
Wikimedia Foundation
Product
MediaWiki
Classifications
CWE-798, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 8, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 6, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1.19.x before 1.19.2
  2. Affected versionversion=before 1.18.5

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Wikimedia Foundation · MediaWikiversion=1.19.x before 1.19.2; version=before 1.18.5

Published CVSS scores

8.1NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.3NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-798Use of Hard-coded Credentials
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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