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CVE-2012-4681

98
FAUCET Score

CVE-2012-4681 is a critical remote code execution vulnerability affecting Oracle Java SE 7 Update 6 and earlier, as well as Red Hat products utilizing these Java versions. Attackers can bypass SecurityManager restrictions via a crafted applet, leveraging specific Java classes and reflection to execute arbitrary code. With a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical) and an EPSS score indicating high exploitability, this flaw allows for complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild since August 2012, including in known ransomware campaigns, with publicly available Metasploit modules and significant community discussion and media coverage.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
1.6.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:jdk:1.6.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
1.6.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:jdk:1.6.0:update1:*:*:*:*:*:*
1.6.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:jdk:1.6.0:update10:*:*:*:*:*:*
1.6.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:jdk:1.6.0:update11:*:*:*:*:*:*
1.6.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:jdk:1.6.0:update12:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 3.1

9.8CRITICAL

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
Exploitability Score
3.9
Impact Score
5.9
CvssVersion
3.1

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
98.54%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
99.9%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-24
Model: v2026.06.15
Added to KEV · Mar 3, 2022
Metasploit: Java 7 Applet Remote Code Execution · Aug 26, 2012
ExploitDB: EDB-20865 · Aug 27, 2012
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.9854 is in the 99th percentile among its peer group of 36,829 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.1 Reddit, 0.3 Bluesky, 0.3 Mastodon, and 2.4 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.3 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Patch Available

Vendor Patches (6)

redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6Fixed in: java-1.7.0-openjdk-1:1.7.0.5-2.2.1.el6_3.3
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Supplementary for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6Fixed in: java-1.7.0-oracle-1:1.7.0.7-1jpp.5.el6_3
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Supplementary for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6Fixed in: java-1.7.0-ibm-1:1.7.0.2.0-1jpp.3.el6_3
View patch
oraclevendor investigatingvia nvd_reference
View patch
redhatno patchvia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5Fixed in: java-1.7.0-openjdk
redhatno patchvia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5Fixed in: java-1.7.0-oracle

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2012-4681Critical

OpenJDK: beans insufficient permission checks, Java 7 0day (beans, 7162473)

Aug 27, 2012

References

cisa.gov / known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
US Government Resource
blog.fireeye.com / research/2012/08/zero-day-season-is-not-over-yet.html
Third Party Advisory
immunityproducts.blogspot.com / 2012/08/java-0day-analysis-cve-2012-4681.html
ExploitThird Party Advisory
labs.alienvault.com / labs/index.php/2012/new-java-0day-exploited-in-the-wild
Broken LinkExploit
lists.opensuse.org / opensuse-security-announce/2012-09/msg00032.html
Mailing List
lists.opensuse.org / opensuse-security-announce/2012-10/msg00016.html
Mailing List
marc.info
Issue TrackingMailing ListThird Party Advisory
rhn.redhat.com / errata/RHSA-2012-1225.html
Third Party Advisory
community.rapid7.com / community/metasploit/blog/2012/08/27/lets-start-the-week-with-a-new-java-0day
Broken LinkThird Party Advisory
secunia.com / advisories/51044
Not Applicable
deependresearch.org / 2012/08/java-7-vulnerability-analysis.html
Broken LinkThird Party Advisory
oracle.com / technetwork/topics/security/alert-cve-2012-4681-1835715.html
Vendor Advisory
securityfocus.com / bid/55213
Broken LinkThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
us-cert.gov / cas/techalerts/TA12-240A.html
Third Party AdvisoryUS Government Resource