CVE-2008-3908 json
Multiple buffer overflows in Princeton WordNet (wn) 3.0 allow context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code via (1) a long argument…
published 2008-09-04 18 y ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-2008-3894
- cvss
- 10.0
- version 2.0, NVD
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 4.4%
- EPSS 4.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 91%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
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.
Patch / fix
- wordnet Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 1:3.0-12
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2008-3908
- wordnet Azure Linux 3.0 3.0-43
- wordnet CBL-Mariner 2.0 3.0-38
azure linux advisories AZL-37061AZL-7423
Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT
Exploit prediction
4.43% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 91% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVD | 2.0 | 10.0 | AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-119 Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
References
-
securityfocus.com
/bid/30958
vdb-entry, patch
-
gentoo.org
/security/en/glsa/glsa-200810-01.xml
vendor-advisory
-
secunia.com
/advisories/32184
third-party-advisory
- ocert.org /analysis/2008-014/wordnet.patch
-
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com
/vulnerabilities/44851
vdb-entry
-
securityfocus.com
/archive/1/495883/100/0/threaded
mailing-list
- ocert.org /advisories/ocert-2008-014.html
-
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com
/vulnerabilities/44850
vdb-entry
- ocert.org /analysis/2008-014/analysis.txt
-
securityreason.com
/securityalert/4217
third-party-advisory
-
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com
/vulnerabilities/44849
vdb-entry
-
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com
/vulnerabilities/44848
vdb-entry
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2008-3908
- NVD CVE-2008-3908
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.