CVE-2008-0295
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 · uneditedHeap-based buffer overflow in modules/access/rtsp/real_sdpplin.c in the Xine library, as used in VideoLAN VLC Media Player 0.8.6d and earlier, allows user-assisted remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or execute arbitrary code via long Session Description Protocol (SDP) data.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow in the Xine library's RTSP SDP parsing code (modules/access/rtsp/real_sdpplin.c) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via specially crafted long Session Description Protocol (SDP) data delivered through RTSP streams.
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<= 0.8.6dCVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/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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Check installed VLC Media Player versionOpen VLC, go to Help > About, or run 'vlc --version' from command line. Note the full version number displayed.Affected if Version is 0.8.6d or any version lower than 0.8.6e (e.g., 0.8.6, 0.8.6a, 0.8.6b, 0.8.6c, 0.8.5, etc.)
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Confirm RTSP streaming module is presentCheck the VLC installation directory for the rtsp access module file (commonly librtsp_access.dll or similar in the modules/access/ folder), or open VLC and look for RTSP in the codec/transport support information.Affected if The RTSP access module exists and is not explicitly disabled or removed from the installation.
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Verify vulnerability-relevant component existsInspect the VLC installation folder for modules/access/rtsp/real_sdpplin.c or the compiled binary derived from this code (libreal_sdpplin module), which handles SDP parsing for RTSP streams.Affected if The real_sdpplin SDP parsing component is present in the VLC installation.
A user is affected if VLC Media Player version 0.8.6d or lower is installed AND the RTSP streaming module with SDP parsing capability is available to process incoming RTSP streams.
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 VLC Media Player to version 0.8.6e or later to patch the vulnerability; alternatively, disable RTSP stream playback and avoid opening untrusted RTSP links from unknown sources until patching is complete.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-0295 — 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-2008-0295 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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