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Informix Dynamic ServerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2008-0727

HIGH · 8.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-03-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Multiple buffer overflows in oninit.exe in IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) 7.x through 11.x allow (1) remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long password and (2) remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary code via a long DBPATH value.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerabilities in IBM Informix Dynamic Server's oninit.exe allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by providing overly long password strings (no authentication required), and authenticated users can achieve code execution via excessively long DBPATH values.

MitigationApply IBM Informix patches or upgrade to a non-vulnerable version; implement input length validation on the password and DBPATH parameters as a compensating control if immediate patching is not feasible.

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
Informix Dynamic ServerApplication
Affected:= 7.3= 7.31.xd8= 7.31.xd9= 9.3= 9.4= 9.40.tc5= 9.40.uc1= 9.40.uc2= 9.40.uc3= 9.40.uc5= 9.40.xd8= 9.40_xc7

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
Single
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/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. Confirm IBM Informix Dynamic Server installation
    Locate the oninit.exe binary on the system. Typical paths include $INFORMIXDIR/bin/oninit.exe on Windows or $INFORMIXDIR/bin/oninit on Unix. Check for the presence of Informix-specific directories and the oninit executable.
    Affected if The oninit.exe binary exists on the system and matches one of the affected version ranges.
  2. Identify installed Informix version
    Run 'oninit -version' or 'oninit -V' from the Informix bin directory, or query the system registry on Windows for the Informix version key. Alternatively, examine the oninit.exe file properties for version information.
    Affected if The installed version matches any of: 7.3, 7.31.xd8, 7.31.xd9, 9.3, 9.4, 9.40.tc5, 9.40.uc1, 9.40.uc2, 9.40.uc3, 9.40.uc5, 9.40.xd8, or 9.40_xc7.
  3. Check if Informix listener is network accessible
    Identify ports used by Informix (typically 9088 for web enabled, 1526 for connection, or 1524 for olsoctcp) using 'netstat -an' or by examining the sqlhosts file. Determine if these ports are bound to external IP addresses rather than localhost only.
    Affected if The Informix service is listening on a publicly accessible IP address, enabling remote attackers to send long password strings without authentication.
  4. Verify remote authentication is enabled
    Check the sqlhosts file and Informix configuration (onconfig) for network listener settings. Confirm that the ONCONFIG parameter allows remote connections. Look for 'olsoctcp' or 'onsoctcp' entries in sqlhosts that permit TCP/IP connections from non-localhost sources.
    Affected if Remote TCP/IP connections are enabled, allowing the unauthenticated password overflow vector to be exploited.

A system is affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server is installed with a version matching any of the listed affected versions and the oninit service is network-accessible, enabling remote attackers to send oversized password strings without authentication.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply IBM Informix patches or upgrade to a non-vulnerable version; implement input length validation on the password and DBPATH parameters as a compensating control if immediate patching is not feasible.

Fix this in Informix Dynamic Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2008-0727 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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