CVE-2008-2145
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 Novell Client 4.91 SP4 and earlier allows local users to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long username in the "forgotten password" dialog.
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 confidenceStack-based buffer overflow in Novell Client 4.91 SP4 and earlier allows local users to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long username in the 'forgotten password' dialog. The vulnerability occurs when the application fails to properly validate the length of user input before copying it into a fixed-size stack buffer.
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= 4.91CVSS 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
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/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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Check if Novell Client is installedOpen Programs and Features (or Add/Remove Programs) and look for 'Novell Client' or 'Novell Classic' in the installed software listAffected if Novell Client appears in the installed programs list
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Determine the installed version of Novell ClientIf found, note the version number displayed in the Programs and Features window, or right-click the Novell Client executable (typically nwtray.exe or similar in the Novell folder) and view Properties > Details to find the File VersionAffected if The version displayed is 4.91 or earlier, or the version cannot be determined but Novell Client is present
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Check for service pack levelIf version 4.91 is confirmed, check if Service Pack 4 or an earlier service pack is installed by looking at the full version string (for example, 4.91.0.0), or look in the Novell Client installation directory for version documentationAffected if Service Pack 4 or an earlier service pack is installed on version 4.91
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Verify the forgotten password dialog functionality existsLocate the Novell Client installation directory (commonly in Program Files or Program Files (x86) > Novell), look for a utility related to password recovery or the forgotten password feature - this may be accessible through the client login interface or system tray iconAffected if The forgotten password dialog or related password utility is accessible and present on the system
A system is affected if Novell Client version 4.91 SP4 or earlier is installed and the forgotten password dialog feature is available for use.
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 to a version of Novell Client later than 4.91 SP4 that addresses this vulnerability. If upgrades are not immediately feasible, restrict physical and console access to systems running the affected client software.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-2145 — 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-2008-2145 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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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