CVE-2008-2405
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 · uneditedSun Java Active Server Pages (ASP) Server before 4.0.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in HTTP requests to unspecified ASP applications.
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 confidenceThis is a command injection vulnerability in Sun Java ASP Server versions prior to 4.0.3. Remote attackers can execute arbitrary operating system commands by including shell metacharacters in HTTP requests to ASP applications, potentially compromising the entire server.
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<= 4.0.2= 4.0.0= 4.0.1CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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.
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Check if Sun Java ASP Server is installedLocate the Sun Java ASP Server installation directory or check for running processes named 'jserv', 'java', or the ASP server serviceAffected if The product is installed and running on the system
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Identify the installed versionCheck the server's version information - typically accessible via server status pages, log files, or the installation directory (such as a version.txt or about file in the product root)Affected if The version is 4.0.0, 4.0.1, or 4.0.2 (or any version prior to 4.0.3)
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Confirm ASP applications are accessibleVerify that the server is accepting HTTP connections and serving ASP content - test by accessing a known ASP endpoint or the server's root URLAffected if The server is reachable and processing ASP requests over the network
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Check for input validation controlsReview any deployed ASP applications or server configuration files for input filtering or validation mechanisms that sanitize shell metacharacters from request parametersAffected if No input validation filters are configured, meaning the vulnerability is exposed
If Sun Java ASP Server version 4.0.2 or earlier is installed, exposed to network requests, and lacks input validation filters, the environment is affected by CVE-2008-2405.
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 Sun Java ASP Server to version 4.0.3 or later, or implement input validation filters to sanitize shell metacharacters from user-supplied HTTP request parameters.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-2405 — 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-2008-2405 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