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Fencer Vulns
critical 9.3

CVE-2008-1887 json

Python 2.5.2 and earlier allows context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code via multiple vectors that cause a negative size value…

published 2008-04-18 18 y ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-2008-1887

cvss
9.3
version 2.0, NVD
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
6.3%
EPSS 6.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 93%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

Python 2.5.2 and earlier allows context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code via multiple vectors that cause a negative size value to be provided to the PyString_FromStringAndSize function, which allocates less memory than expected when assert() is disabled and triggers a buffer overflow.

Patch / fix

  • python RHEL 3 2.2.3-6.11
  • tkinter RHEL 3 2.2.3-6.11
  • python-tools RHEL 3 2.2.3-6.11
  • python RHEL 4 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2
  • tkinter RHEL 4 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2
  • python-tools RHEL 4 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2
  • python RHEL 5 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6
  • tkinter RHEL 5 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6

red hat advisories RHSA-2009:1178RHSA-2009:1177RHSA-2009:1176

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2008-1887 updated

python: PyString_FromStringAndSize does not check for negative size values

  • Red Hat Desktop version 3 python 2.2.3-6.11, tkinter 2.2.3-6.11, python-tools 2.2.3-6.11
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1178
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) python 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6, tkinter 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6, python-tools 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1176
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 3 python 2.2.3-6.11, tkinter 2.2.3-6.11, python-tools 2.2.3-6.11
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1178
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 4 python 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2, tkinter 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2, python-tools 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1177
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client) python 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6, tkinter 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6, python-tools 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1176
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop version 4 python 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2, tkinter 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2, python-tools 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1177
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Workstation (v. 5 client) python 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6, tkinter 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6, python-tools 2.4.3-24.el5_3.6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1176
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 3 python 2.2.3-6.11, tkinter 2.2.3-6.11, python-tools 2.2.3-6.11
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1178
show 3 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 4 python 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2, tkinter 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2, python-tools 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1177
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 3 python 2.2.3-6.11, tkinter 2.2.3-6.11, python-tools 2.2.3-6.11
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1178
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 4 python 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2, tkinter 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2, python-tools 2.3.4-14.7.el4_8.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1177

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Exploit prediction

6.29% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 93% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

  • bugs.python.org http://bugs.python.org/issue2587 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • securityfocus.com http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/490776 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
NVD 2.0 9.3 AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-120 Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.