CVE-2008-1837
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 · uneditedlibclamunrar in ClamAV before 0.93 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via crafted RAR files that trigger "memory problems," as demonstrated by the PROTOS GENOME test suite for Archive Formats.
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 confidenceThe libclamunrar library in ClamAV versions before 0.93 contains a memory handling flaw when processing RAR archive files. Remote attackers can trigger a denial of service (crash) by submitting specially crafted RAR files that cause memory allocation or access problems, as identified by the PROTOS GENOME test suite for Archive Formats.
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<= 0.92.1= 0.15= 0.20= 0.21= 0.22= 0.23= 0.24= 0.51= 0.52= 0.53= 0.54= 0.60CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
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.
-
Verify ClamAV is installedRun 'clamd --version' or 'clamscan --version' to confirm ClamAV is present and retrieve the installed version numberAffected if No output or command not found indicates ClamAV is not installed and is not affected by this CVE
-
Check installed ClamAV versionCompare the version number from the previous step to the affected ranges: versions <= 0.92.1, or versions 0.15, 0.20, 0.21, 0.22, 0.23, 0.24, 0.51, 0.52, 0.53, 0.54, or 0.60Affected if The installed version matches any of the affected versions listed, indicating the vulnerability is present
-
Confirm libclamunrar library presenceLocate the libclamunrar library file by running 'find /usr -name "libclamunrar*" 2>/dev/null' or checking the ClamAV library directory (typically /usr/lib/clamav)Affected if The library exists and the ClamAV version is within the affected range, meaning the vulnerable component is available
-
Determine if RAR archive scanning is enabledCheck clamd.conf or clamscan options for 'ScanRAR' directive, or test by attempting to scan a benign RAR file with 'clamscan --scan-archive test.rar'Affected if RAR scanning is enabled and the ClamAV version is affected, the system can be crashed by specially crafted RAR files
-
Inspect for prior crash eventsReview system logs (such as /var/log/clamav/clamd.log or /var/log/messages) for recent crashes or errors related to RAR processing or libclamunrarAffected if Recent crashes logged during RAR archive scanning occur on an affected version, confirming active exploitation of this vulnerability
You are affected if ClamAV is installed with a version in the affected list (0.15, 0.20-0.24, 0.51-0.54, 0.60, or <= 0.92.1) AND the libclamunrar library is present AND RAR archive scanning is enabled.
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 ClamAV to version 0.93 or later which contains the fix for the memory handling vulnerability in libclamunrar. Additionally, consider implementing file-type filtering at perimeter mail gateways to reject or quarantine RAR attachments until they can be scanned.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-1837 — 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-2008-1837 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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