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Internet ExplorerApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2008-0454

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-01-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.6.0.244 or later.
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
Cross-zone scripting vulnerability in the Internet Explorer web control in Skype 3.6.0.244, and earlier 3.5.x and 3.6.x versions, on Windows allows user-assisted remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML in the Local Machine Zone via the Title field of a (1) Dailymotion and possibly (2) Metacafe movie in the Skype video gallery, accessible through a search within the "Add video to chat" dialog, aka "videomood XSS."

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

Cross-zone scripting vulnerability in Skype's Internet Explorer web control allows injection of arbitrary web script or HTML into the Local Machine Zone via the Title field of Dailymotion (and possibly Metacafe) videos in the video gallery accessible through the 'Add video to chat' dialog. This enables scripts to run with elevated Local Machine privileges.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of Skype (3.8.0.188 or later) that properly sanitizes video title fields before rendering in the IE web control, or restrict use of the video gallery feature until patching is possible.

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
Internet ExplorerApplication
Affected:all versions
SkypeApplication
Affected:<= 3.6.0.244= 3.5= 3.6

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed Skype version
    Open Skype and go to Help > About, or right-click the Skype icon and select 'About'. Record the version number shown.
    Affected if The version is 3.5, 3.6, or any version up to and including 3.6.0.244 (for example, 3.6.0.100, 3.5.0.155, etc.)
  2. Confirm the video gallery feature is present
    In the Skype main window, look for the 'Add video to chat' option, typically found in the conversation toolbar or menu. Click it to access the video gallery.
    Affected if The 'Add video to chat' dialog opens and displays a video gallery from Dailymotion or Metacafe, indicating the vulnerable component is present and accessible.
  3. Verify Internet Explorer web control usage
    Confirm that the video gallery renders within an embedded Internet Explorer web control (typically displays as an internal browser frame within the Skype window).
    Affected if The video gallery loads within an embedded IE web control, confirming the vulnerable component is in use.
  4. Identify Windows user context
    Note the Windows account running Skype and check if it has elevated local machine privileges.
    Affected if The Skype process runs with elevated Local Machine zone privileges, which could be exploited if the vulnerable IE web control is present.

A user is affected if they have Skype version 3.5, 3.6, or any version up to 3.6.0.244 installed and have access to the 'Add video to chat' feature with its embedded IE web control.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.6.0.244
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of Skype (3.8.0.188 or later) that properly sanitizes video title fields before rendering in the IE web control, or restrict use of the video gallery feature until patching is possible.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Skype version (current release) - this vulnerability was fixed in post-3.6.0.244 versions

  1. 1. Uninstall the affected Skype versions (3.5.x, 3.6.x, and 3.6.0.244) from the Windows system
  2. 2. Download the latest version of Skype from the official Skype website (skype.com)
  3. 3. Install the latest Skype version which contains security fixes for this vulnerability
  4. 4. Verify the installation was successful by checking the installed version number
Caveat Upgrading from very old Skype 3.x to current version may change the user interface and some legacy features; ensure contacts are backed up via Skype export if needed

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

Fix this in Internet Explorer Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA32.0 h
68.0 hours of engineering $11,680
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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-2008-0454 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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