CVE-2007-3333
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in capture in IBM AIX 5.3 SP6 and 5.2.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a large number of terminal control sequences.
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 · moderate confidenceStack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the 'capture' utility on IBM AIX 5.3 SP6 and 5.2.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending a large number of terminal control sequences. The overflow occurs on the stack, enabling attackers to overwrite return addresses and inject malicious code.
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= 5.2.0= 5.3CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify AIX versionRun 'oslevel -s' or 'oslevel' command to determine the installed AIX versionAffected if Version is exactly 5.2.0 or any 5.3.x release (including 5.3 SP6)
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Locate the capture utilityRun 'which capture' or 'lslpp -l | grep -i capture' to find if the capture utility is installedAffected if The capture utility binary exists on the system
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Verify capture utility is executableCheck file permissions with 'ls -la /usr/bin/capture' or similar path, and verify the binary has executable permissionsAffected if The capture utility has executable permissions for users who could trigger the overflow
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Assess network exposureReview network access controls, firewall rules, or TCP wrappers configuration that may allow remote access to the capture utility. Check if the utility listens on any network port by reviewing /etc/services and running 'netstat -an | grep capture' if applicableAffected if The capture utility is network-accessible from untrusted hosts
The system is affected if it runs AIX 5.2.0 or 5.3.x AND has the capture utility installed and exposed, allowing remote attackers to send terminal control sequences to trigger the stack-based buffer overflow.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade AIX to a supported version receiving security patches, or if upgrade is not feasible, restrict network access to the capture utility and implement compensating controls such as firewall rules limiting exposure to trusted networks.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2007-3333 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-3333 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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