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FreeBSDOperating system

CVE-2005-0708

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-05-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The sendfile system call in FreeBSD 4.8 through 4.11 and 5 through 5.4 can transfer portions of kernel memory if a file is truncated while it is being sent, which could allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The sendfile system call in FreeBSD 4.8-4.11 and 5.0-5.4 contains a race condition where truncating a file during transmission can cause portions of kernel memory to be sent to the client, resulting in potential sensitive information disclosure.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched FreeBSD version or apply vendor security patches for the affected releases; consider upgrading to a supported FreeBSD branch if still running these end-of-life versions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FreeBSDOperating system
Affected:= 4.0= 4.1= 4.1.1= 4.2= 4.3= 4.4= 4.5= 4.6= 4.6.2= 4.7= 4.8= 4.9
DragonflybsdOperating system
Affected:= 1.0= 1.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check FreeBSD version
    Run 'uname -a' or 'sysctl kern.version' to identify the installed FreeBSD version
    Affected if The version output shows 4.0 through 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, or 5.0 through 5.4 (or DragonFlyBSD 1.0-1.1)
  2. Identify DragonFlyBSD version
    Run 'uname -r' or check '/usr/include/osreldate.h' for the DragonFly version
    Affected if The version shows DragonFlyBSD 1.0 or 1.1
  3. Verify sendfile syscall availability
    Check if sendfile(2) is present by reviewing system call tables or attempting 'man sendfile'
    Affected if The sendfile system call exists and is documented on the system
  4. Identify services using sendfile
    Review running services such as web servers (httpd, nginx) and check their configuration for sendfile usage
    Affected if A web server or file transfer service configured to use sendfile is running
  5. Check for file truncation during transfer
    Audit any scripts or applications that perform file truncation operations on files being served via sendfile
    Affected if Applications truncate files during active transfers or have race-prone file handling code

If the system runs FreeBSD 4.8-5.4 or DragonFlyBSD 1.0-1.1 AND serves files using sendfile-based services, the race condition may expose kernel memory to clients.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched FreeBSD version or apply vendor security patches for the affected releases; consider upgrading to a supported FreeBSD branch if still running these end-of-life versions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

FreeBSD 6.0 or later (FreeBSD 12-STABLE/13-STABLE recommended for current security support)

  1. 1. Identify all systems running affected FreeBSD versions (4.0-4.2, 4.8-4.11, 5.0-5.4) or DragonflyBSD 1.0-1.1
  2. 2. Plan migration to a supported operating system version (FreeBSD 12-STABLE or 13-STABLE recommended)
  3. 3. Backup all critical data and configurations from affected systems
  4. 4. Deploy new systems with current supported FreeBSD releases
  5. 5. Migrate applications and services to the new systems
  6. 6. Decommission the old vulnerable systems
  7. 7. Verify sendfile functionality works correctly on new systems
Caveat Very high risk - these are end-of-life systems from 2005; application compatibility with modern FreeBSD may require code changes; consider this a full system replacement rather than simple upgrade

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in FreeBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-0708 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data