CVE-2008-3908

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.

Category

10.0
CVSS
Severity: Critical
CVSS 2.0 •
EPSS 3.31% Top 15%
Vendor Advisory gentoo.org
Affected: n/a n/a
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Link Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30958 vdb entry patch
http://secunia.com/advisories/32184 third party advisory
http://www.ocert.org/analysis/2008-014/wordnet.patch
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44851 vdb entry
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495883/100/0/threaded mailing list
http://www.ocert.org/advisories/ocert-2008-014.html
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44850 vdb entry
http://www.ocert.org/analysis/2008-014/analysis.txt
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/4217 third party advisory
http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200810-01.xml vendor advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44849 vdb entry
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44848 vdb entry

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2008-3908?
CVE-2008-3908 has been scored as a critical severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2008-3908?
To fix CVE-2008-3908, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2008-3908 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2008-3908 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~3% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
This platform uses data from the NIST NVD, MITRE CVE, MITRE CWE, First.org and CISA KEV but is not endorsed or certified by these entities. CVE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. CWE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CWE content is MITRE's CWE web site.
© 2025 Under My Watch. All Rights Reserved.