Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2012-10023 is a remotely reachable memory corruption flaw in FreeFloat FTP Server. An unauthenticated attacker could crash the service or potentially run code if the FTP service is exposed. The product appears legacy, and the bundle does not identify a vendor patch.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation if FreeFloat FTP Server is present, especially on externally reachable systems. Otherwise, treat this as a targeted legacy-software exposure issue rather than an enterprise-wide emergency.
Technical view
FreeFloat FTP Server 1.0.0 fails to validate input to the FTP USER command, causing a stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-121). CVSS v4 is 6.9. Public exploit references exist, including Metasploit and Exploit-DB entries, but the bundle does not show KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to systems still running FreeFloat FTP Server, especially internet-facing Windows FTP services. The affected version range is not well established in the bundle beyond version 1.0.0 and a broad unknown default status.
Exploitation context
Public exploit material exists, so defenders should assume the bug is well understood. However, the provided sources do not prove active exploitation in the wild, and the CVE is not marked as KEV.
Researcher notes
The strongest evidence is public exploit availability and historical advisory coverage. The bundle does not establish an official patch, complete affected-version range, or active exploitation. Avoid broad claims beyond FreeFloat FTP Server and the USER command buffer overflow.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory FTP services for FreeFloat FTP Server use.
- Remove or replace FreeFloat FTP Server where found.
- Restrict FTP access to trusted networks if immediate removal is not possible.
- Check vendor or trusted advisory guidance; no patch is named in the bundle.
- Monitor FTP service logs for abnormal authentication attempts.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any host runs FreeFloat FTP Server.
- Identify version and exposure of each discovered FTP service.
- Verify internet-facing FTP is not FreeFloat FTP Server.
- Review asset scans for legacy or unmanaged FTP software.
- Check vulnerability scanner results against CVE-2012-10023.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-121: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2012-10023 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.9 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
6.9MediumVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/windows/ftp/freefloatftp_user.rbCVE reference · exploit
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/23243CVE reference · exploit
- https://my.saintcorporation.com/cgi-bin/exploit_info/freefloat_ftp_server_user_cmdCVE reference · third-party-advisory
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15689CVE reference · exploit
- https://web.archive.org/web/20101208040029/http://secunia.com/advisories/42465/CVE reference · technical-description, exploit
- https://web.archive.org/web/20101213050627/http://www.freefloat.com/sv/about-/about-.phpCVE reference · product
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/freefloat-ftp-server-user-command-buffer-overflowCVE reference · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Stack-based Buffer Overflow
Stack-based Buffer Overflow represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.