`CVE-2012-6153`

Severity	4.3 Medium CVSS 2.0
Fixed in	`4.2.3`
Weakness	Improper input validation (CWE-20)
Published	4 Sep 2014
Updated	16 Jun 2026

Description

http/conn/ssl/AbstractVerifier.java in Apache Commons HttpClient before 4.2.3 does not properly verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in the subject's Common Name (CN) or subjectAltName field of the X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof SSL servers via a certificate with a subject that specifies a common name in a field that is not the CN field. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2012-5783.

Exploitation status

No public exploit

No exploit has been reported in the sources we check. Published 12 years ago.

CISA KEV not listed
VulnCheck KEV not listed
CISA Vulnrichment no assessment published
Indexed PoC none indexed
EPSS 5.8% chance in 30 days

Waratek protection

Protected by Waratek

Waratek has a rule that blocks attacks on this vulnerability.

Protection full
Action available patch rule
Review human ARMR file
Record active

Decided by	An ARMR patch file on disk for this CVE
Finding	CVE is covered by a multi-CVE ARMR patch rule

Decided by

An ARMR patch file on disk for this CVE

Finding

CVE is covered by a multi-CVE ARMR patch rule

ARMR rule files

1 file

The rule files Waratek ships for this CVE. Some CVEs need more than one, for example one per affected library or one per ARMR version.

CVE-2012-6153.armr patch rule, ARMR 2.6 added 2020-06-25 updated 2026-03-04

How to mitigate CVE-2012-6153

Upgrade the affected software to 4.2.3 or later. Until you can, Waratek RASP blocks exploitation with a rule written for this CVE. It runs inside the Java application, with no code changes.

Waratek RASP Runtime protection for Java applications

Affected software and releases

Maven packages

Affected and fixed versions, from OSV.dev

Package Introduced Fixed Last affected

org.apache.httpcomponents:httpclient 0 4.2.3 unbounded

Package	Introduced	Fixed	Last affected
`org.apache.httpcomponents:httpclient`	0	`4.2.3`	unbounded

Products and versions

2 products, 2 version entries

Source	Vendor	Product	Scheme	Affected versions
nvd	apache	commons-httpclient	generic	≥ 4.0 and ≤ 4.2.2
osv	org.apache.httpcomponents	httpclient	generic	＜ 4.2.3

Source

Vendor

Product

Scheme

Affected versions

nvd

apache

commons-httpclient

generic

≥ 4.0 and ≤ 4.2.2

osv

org.apache.httpcomponents

httpclient

generic

＜ 4.2.3

References

URL	Tags
https://github.com/apache/httpcomponents-client/commit/6e14fc146a66e0f3eb362f45f95d1a58ee18886a	WEB
https://github.com/apache/httpcomponents-client/commit/b930227f907af1198765fc47beabbddae344ca7b	WEB
https://access.redhat.com/solutions/1165533	WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1129916	WEB
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-2x83-r56g-cv47	ADVISORY
https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05103564	WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014-1098.html	WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014-1833.html	WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014-1834.html	WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014-1835.html	WEB

URL

Timeline

Published	2014-09-04	By the CVE Program.
ARMR remediation created	2020-06-25	Earliest commit adding this CVE's ARMR patch or security rule.
ARMR remediation last updated	2026-03-04	Most recent commit touching this CVE's ARMR patch or security rule.
Last VRT activity	2026-03-04	Most recent commit touching this CVE's classification, patch or rule file.
NVD record modified	2026-06-16	NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

Published

2014-09-04

By the CVE Program.

ARMR remediation created

2020-06-25

Earliest commit adding this CVE's ARMR patch or security rule.

ARMR remediation last updated

2026-03-04

Most recent commit touching this CVE's ARMR patch or security rule.

Last VRT activity

2026-03-04

Most recent commit touching this CVE's classification, patch or rule file.

NVD record modified

2026-06-16

NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

How VRT decided (2 of 24 rules ran)

2 of 24 rules ran. The rest didn't run because an earlier rule had already settled the CVE.

# Rule Outcome Status Detail

identity: Does this identifier describe a vulnerability at all? the first rule that matches decides

1 rejected no match CVE Program withdrawal of this identifier

scope: Is it a vulnerability Waratek protects? the first rule that matches decides

2 armr-patch-file decided it matched Protected by Waratek Covered by ARMR patch: CVE-2012-6153.armr

3 armr-secure-rule-file not reached An ARMR security-rule template on disk for this CVE

4 manual-classification not reached A researcher's recorded decision for this specific CVE

5 manual classification not reached Manual classification of this CVE in the legacy dataset

6 non-java-upstream not reached A root cause in non-Java code: an OS kernel, a C library, or a bundled runtime

7 oracle-component not reached The defect being in a component of a tracked product the agent does not reach: JavaFX, the Java SE installer, the JInitiator browser plug-in, the native WebLogic proxy plug-in, or a native part of Oracle Application Server or Collaboration Suite (HTTP Server, Web Cache, Internet Directory, mail and calendar servers). Oracle gives these no CPE of their own and names them only in the description.

8 java-client-side not reached Oracle's own risk-matrix note saying the CVE is reached only through untrusted code in the Java sandbox (applets, Web Start) or only through a client installation of Java, so a server running its own trusted code is not exposed

9 osv-maven not reached An OSV.dev record of this CVE affecting a package published to Maven Central. When every such package is one business applications do not use (Minecraft mods and launchers, Fastjson) and no tracked product is named by CPE, it settles the CVE as Outside Waratek scope instead

10 cna-maven-package not reached An affected Maven artifact named by the CNA itself

11 known-cpe-product not reached An NVD CPE naming a product ARMR tracks

12 cna-cpe-product not reached A CPE the CNA published naming a tracked product. Oracle publishes these on advisory day, months before NVD.

13 oracle-advisory-family not reached A tracked product family named in Oracle's own risk matrix. CPE cannot carry a suite name, only a module.

14 cna-named-product not reached A tracked product named in words by the CVE's own CNA, on a record with no CPE yet. Apache and Eclipse publish these on advisory day, before NVD adds CPE data.

15 non-deployable-product not reached The only affected product being a sealed appliance image, where Java runs but no -javaagent can be attached

16 unmatched-product not reached No tracked product matched above, and none present at all

disposition: What do we do about one that is? every rule runs

17 patch-hint not reached A reference pointing at the upstream fix: a commit, a PR, a Red Hat bug

18 open-source-maven not reached The affected package being open source on Maven, so the fix can be read

19 poc-derivable not reached An indexed exploit clearing the evidence bar to reverse-engineer, where there is no source to read

20 no-exploit not reached Nothing to build a rule from yet: no published exploit, no CISA record of exploitation and no source-level change to read

21 secure-rule-match not reached A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule

22 exploited-no-fix-or-poc not reached Somebody exploiting this CVE (a CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, or a CISA verdict of active exploitation), with no fix, source code or PoC to build a rule from

23 below-action-threshold not reached Medium or Low severity, no CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, no PoC clearing the evidence bar, no CISA verdict, no Oracle advisory

24 no-exploit-published not reached Exploit code for this candidate, published in a reviewed catalogue or a GitHub repository with 5 or more stars, or in use per CISA or VulnCheck; not only a CISA verdict, a forecast, or nothing at all

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