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10.0
HIGH CVSS 2.0
CVE-2008-3908
WordNet Buffer Overflows Allow Arbitrary Code Execution
Description

Multiple buffer overflows in Princeton WordNet (wn) 3.0 allow context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code via (1) a long argument on the command line; a long (2) WNSEARCHDIR, (3) WNHOME, or (4) WNDBVERSION environment variable; or (5) a user-supplied dictionary (aka data file). NOTE: since WordNet itself does not run with special privileges, this issue only crosses privilege boundaries when WordNet is invoked as a third party component.

INFO

Published Date :

Sept. 4, 2008, 5:41 p.m.

Last Modified :

April 9, 2025, 12:30 a.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !

Source :

[email protected]
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2008-3908 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Princeton_university wordnet
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 1
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 2.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
The WordNet package has multiple buffer overflows; upgrading to a patched version is recommended.
  • Update the WordNet package.
  • If prompted, reboot the system.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github

CVE-2008-3908 has a 1 public PoC/Exploit available at Github. Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2008-3908.

URL Resource
http://secunia.com/advisories/32184
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/4217
http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200810-01.xml
http://www.ocert.org/advisories/ocert-2008-014.html
http://www.ocert.org/analysis/2008-014/analysis.txt
http://www.ocert.org/analysis/2008-014/wordnet.patch
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495883/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30958 Patch
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44848
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44849
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44850
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44851
http://secunia.com/advisories/32184
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/4217
http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200810-01.xml
http://www.ocert.org/advisories/ocert-2008-014.html
http://www.ocert.org/analysis/2008-014/analysis.txt
http://www.ocert.org/analysis/2008-014/wordnet.patch
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495883/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30958 Patch
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44848
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44849
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44850
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44851
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2008-3908 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2008-3908 weaknesses.

CAPEC-8: Buffer Overflow in an API Call Buffer Overflow in an API Call CAPEC-9: Buffer Overflow in Local Command-Line Utilities Buffer Overflow in Local Command-Line Utilities CAPEC-10: Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables CAPEC-14: Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow CAPEC-24: Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow CAPEC-42: MIME Conversion MIME Conversion CAPEC-44: Overflow Binary Resource File Overflow Binary Resource File CAPEC-45: Buffer Overflow via Symbolic Links Buffer Overflow via Symbolic Links CAPEC-46: Overflow Variables and Tags Overflow Variables and Tags CAPEC-47: Buffer Overflow via Parameter Expansion Buffer Overflow via Parameter Expansion CAPEC-100: Overflow Buffers Overflow Buffers CAPEC-123: Buffer Manipulation Buffer Manipulation

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Profile Photo
f-secure-foundry/advisories

(Inverse Path | F-Secure) Hardware Security Team - Security Advisories

Updated: 11 months, 3 weeks ago
24 stars 4 fork 4 watcher
Born at : July 23, 2019, 3:04 p.m. This repo has been linked 20 different CVEs too.

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2008-3908 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2008-3908 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    Nov. 21, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference http://secunia.com/advisories/32184
    Added Reference http://securityreason.com/securityalert/4217
    Added Reference http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200810-01.xml
    Added Reference http://www.ocert.org/advisories/ocert-2008-014.html
    Added Reference http://www.ocert.org/analysis/2008-014/analysis.txt
    Added Reference http://www.ocert.org/analysis/2008-014/wordnet.patch
    Added Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495883/100/0/threaded
    Added Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30958
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44848
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44849
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44850
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44851
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Oct. 11, 2018

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/archive/1/495883/100/0/threaded [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495883/100/0/threaded [No Types Assigned]
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Aug. 08, 2017

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed Reference http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/44850 [No Types Assigned]
    Removed Reference http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/44849 [No Types Assigned]
    Removed Reference http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/44851 [No Types Assigned]
    Removed Reference http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/44848 [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44851 [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44850 [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44849 [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44848 [No Types Assigned]
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Sep. 04, 2008

    Action Type Old Value New Value
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 10
Access Vector
Access Complexity
Authentication
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

3.84 }} 0.52%

score

0.87710

percentile