Fedora 8Operating system · Redhat
CVE-2008-2359
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 · uneditedThe default configuration of consolehelper in system-config-network before 1.5.10-1 on Fedora 8 lacks the USER=root directive, which allows local users of the workstation console to gain privileges and change the network configuration.
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 consolehelper utility in system-config-network before version 1.5.10-1 on Fedora 8 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability due to a missing USER=root directive in its default configuration. This allows any local user with physical console access to execute the network configuration tool with elevated root privileges, potentially modifying network settings arbitrarily.
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
Fedora 8Operating system
= 1.4.4= 1.4.5= 1.4.6= 1.4.7= 1.5.= 1.5.0= 1.5.1= 1.5.2= 1.5.3= 1.5.4= 1.5.5= 1.5.6= 1.4.4= 1.4.5= 1.4.6= 1.4.7= 1.5.0= 1.5.1= 1.5.2= 1.5.3= 1.5.4= 1.5.5= 1.5.6= 1.5.7CVSS 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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Identify system-config-network package versionRun 'rpm -q system-config-network' or 'rpm -qa | grep system-config-network' to see if the package is installed and its version numberAffected if The installed version matches 1.4.4 through 1.5.6 or 1.5.7 on Fedora 8
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Locate consolehelper configuration for system-config-networkLook for consolehelper config files in /etc/security/console.apps/ or similar directories, specifically any file related to system-config-networkAffected if A consolehelper configuration file exists for system-config-network but the file is present on the system
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Verify USER directive in consolehelper configInspect the consolehelper configuration file for system-config-network and check if it contains 'USER=root'Affected if The configuration file exists but does NOT contain 'USER=root' or the USER directive is missing entirely
A system is affected if system-config-network version is between 1.4.4 and 1.5.6/1.5.7 on Fedora 8 and the consolehelper configuration file lacks the USER=root directive, allowing any local console user to run the network tool with root privileges.
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 system-config-network to version 1.5.10-1 or later on affected Fedora 8 systems to include the USER=root directive in the consolehelper configuration.
Fix this in Fedora 8
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-2359 — 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-2008-2359 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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