What is CVE-2010-4052?A medium-severity flaw in Glibc, explained.
CVE-2010-4052 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 5.0) in Glibc from Gnu, published on 13 January 2011. It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts its chance of use in the next 30 days at 51%. If you run an affected version, plan in the vendor’s fix.
Published 13 January 2011. Record last updated 11 April 2025. We keep this page's data up to date.
What is CVE-2010-4052? In plain terms.
It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in. If it works, the attacker can slow it down.
Stack consumption vulnerability in the regcomp implementation in the GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) through 2.11.3, and 2.12.x through 2.12.2, allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (resource exhaustion) via a regular expression containing adjacent repetition operators, as demonstrated by a {10,}{10,}{10,}{10,} sequence in the proftpd.gnu.c exploit for ProFTPD.
What kind of flaw is it?
- UnknownUnknown
How an attack on it works
Read straight from its severity rating, translated out of the shorthand.
- Where an attacker can beAnywhere on the internet
- How hard it is to pull offEasy: no special conditions
- Login needed firstNo login needed
- What an attacker getsCan slow it down
Severity vector: AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Is CVE-2010-4052 being exploited? Not that we know of.
It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 51%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.
Timeline
- Published
- Record last updated
- Exploit likelihood jumped
CVE-2010-4052 scores 45. Action: Plan remediation.
We keep the score of every published flaw up to date as the evidence changes. Four things go into the score, and evidence that criminals are actually using it counts most. In order:
- Evidence it is being exploitedBiggest factor
- How severe it isStrong factor
- How widely exposed it isSmaller factor
- Threat activity around itSmaller factor
85 and above is Critical. Anything confirmed as exploited is always marked for an emergency patch, whatever its score.
When CVE-2010-4052 matches software you track, it lands in your list with its score and the reasons behind it.
See your own ranked list →How do I fix CVE-2010-4052? Four steps.
- Check whether you run itCompare your versions with the affected products above. Not sure what you run? Precursor Intelligence can work it out from your public website, or you can pick it from a list.
- Apply the vendor’s fixInstall the update named in the vendor’s advisory. We’ve put the advisories and patch notes first in the list.
- If you can’t patch todayFollow any mitigation the vendor publishes, and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet until the update is in.
- Keep an eye on itTrack the product and we tell you as soon as we spot this flaw on the list of exploited flaws, or a jump in its exploit likelihood.
References
11 links- Proftpd.gnu.c (opens in a new tab)cxib.net
- Web page (opens in a new tab)secunia.com
- Fulldisclosure (opens in a new tab)seclists.org · 2011
- Achievement Securityalert (opens in a new tab)securityreason.com
- Securityalert (opens in a new tab)securityreason.com
- Web page (opens in a new tab)securitytracker.com
Does CVE-2010-4052 affect you? We'll keep checking.
Looking flaws up one at a time doesn't scale. Tell us what you run once, and we tell you which flaws matter to you, in what order, and keep watching for new ones.
- Tell us what you runPick your software from a list, or let us work it out from your website.
- We match it to every flawOver 400,000 published flaws, checked against your list.
- Ranked by real-world riskA 0 to 100 score, led by evidence criminals are using it.
- Told as soon as we knowAn alert by email, in the app or by webhook to your own tools.
Free plan, no card needed. Nothing to install.
1 new flaw affects software Acme tracks
Stack consumption vulnerability in the regcomp implementation in the GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) through 2.11.3, and 2.12.x through 2.12.2, allows con...
- Matched to
- Glibc on Acme's software list
- What to do
- Plan in the vendor’s update
Sent to the alert recipients Acme chose. Also in the app and to Acme's webhook.
CVE-2010-4052 is a medium-severity flaw in Glibc from Gnu, published on 13 January 2011. It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in. If it works, the attacker can slow it down.
It scores 5.0 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale, which is medium. Our risk score for CVE-2010-4052 is 45 out of 100, which is Medium. Its action is "Plan remediation". Not confirmed as exploited yet, but serious or likely enough that it should not wait for a quiet month.
It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 51%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.
For Glibc from Gnu: 1.00, 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.05 and 22 more.
Install the update the vendor names in its advisory, linked first under "How do I fix" on this page. If you can't patch today, follow the vendor's mitigation and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet.