ExploitedIn CISA KEV

CVE-2012-4681

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2022-03-03 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel.

Published2012-08-28
WeaknessCWE-284

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

Multiple vulnerabilities in the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) component in Oracle Java SE 7 Update 6 and earlier allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted applet that bypasses SecurityManager restrictions by (1) using com.sun.beans.finder.ClassFinder.findClass and leveraging an exception with the forName method to access restricted classes from arbitrary packages such as sun.awt.SunToolkit, then (2) using "reflection with a trusted immediate caller" to leverage the getField method to access and modify private fields, as exploited in the wild in August 2012 using Gondzz.class and Gondvv.class.

Timeline

dates in UTC

2012-08-2800:55CVE publishedNVD
2022-03-03Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
2022-03-03Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
2022-03-03Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
2026-08-0520:37SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP
2026-10-2319:23First public proof of conceptPoC-in-GitHub
2026-10-2319:23EPSS crossed 10 %FIRST EPSS

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 18:48 UTC

Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days

Block these indicators

Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2012-4681?format=txt
CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2012-4681?format=csv
TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD

Java (Oracle JDK)

Branch	Affected	Fixed in	Source
1.6	= 1.6.0	no fix published	NVD
1.7	= 1.7.0	no fix published	NVD

Java (Oracle JDK)

Branch	Affected	Fixed in	Source
1.6	= 1.6.0	no fix published	NVD
1.7	= 1.7.0	no fix published	NVD

Redhat enterprise linux desktop

Branch	Affected	Fixed in	Source
6.0	= 6.0	no fix published	NVD

3 more products in the sources.

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2022-03-24

Advisories and patches

www.oracle.comVendor Advisory

Detection

read 2026-10-23 19:23 UTC

Nuclei template: none so far
Exploit-DB: no entry
Proof-of-concept repositories: 2 repositories, unverifiedbenjholla/CVE-2012-4681-ArmoringZH3FENG/PoCs-CVE_2012_4681

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added: 2022-03-03
Patch Due Date: 2022-03-24
Ransomware Use: Known
Required Action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

CISA KEVKEV entry2022-03-03
GCVEexploitation2022-03-03
CISA-ADPSSVC decisionactive2026-08-05
OpenCVESSVC decisionactive—
CISA-ADPCVSS 3.19.82025-02-10
NVDCVSS 3.19.8read 2026-10-23
NVDCVSS 2.010read 2026-10-23
CISA-ADPweakness (CWE)CWE-2842025-02-10
FIRST EPSSEPSS score98.5 %read 2026-10-23
PoC-in-GitHubproof of concept2read 2026-10-23

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published: 2012-08-28
Last Modified: 2026-08-06
NVD status: Analyzed

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2012-4681?

Is CVE-2012-4681 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2012-4681 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2022-03-24.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2012-4681?

CVE-2012-4681 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Hear about the next vulnerability in your software

Surveillance reads the versions in your stack — a domain, a lockfile or a list — checks each CVE against the ranges its sources publish, and alerts you when one you run is exploited or enters CISA KEV. A version it cannot read stays « version not verified ».

Get alerts for this product CISA KEV additions, March 2022 Search CVEs

No credit card required · No monthly cap on website lookups · 250 API requests/month

Go further

For a threat intelligence platform: malware, C2 and ransomware indicators over STIX/TAXII.
Following what attackers exploit right now? The CISA KEV additions of the month, with their patch deadlines.
Running this software? Vulnerability monitoring alerts you to new vulnerabilities in your products.

Other 2012 vulnerabilities worth triaging

Ranked by exploit probability (EPSS).

Back to CVE Database