CVE-2008-2957
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 UPnP functionality in Pidgin 2.0.0, and possibly other versions, allows remote attackers to trigger the download of arbitrary files and cause a denial of service (memory or disk consumption) via a UDP packet that specifies an arbitrary URL.
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 · moderate confidenceThe UPnP functionality in Pidgin 2.0.0 lacks proper validation of incoming UDP packets, allowing remote attackers to trigger arbitrary URL downloads by sending specially crafted UDP packets. This enables both unauthorized file retrieval and denial of service through excessive memory or disk consumption from uncontrolled downloads.
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= 2.0.0CVSS 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
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/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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Identify Pidgin installation and versionCheck if Pidgin is installed and retrieve its version number using system package management tools (dpkg, rpm, or the --version flag) or verify through the application itselfAffected if The installed version is exactly 2.0.0
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Confirm UPnP functionality is presentVerify that the Pidgin installation includes UPnP support modules or libraries, typically found in the compiled binary or associated plugin directoriesAffected if UPnP support binaries or modules exist in the Pidgin installation directory
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Check for active UPnP service listenerInspect listening network ports using netstat or ss commands, looking for UDP listeners on ports commonly used by UPnP (such as port 1900) or any unusual UDP services spawned by PidginAffected if A UDP port associated with UPnP is in LISTEN or OPEN state and bound to a Pidgin-related process
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Verify UPnP is enabled in Pidgin settingsExamine Pidgin configuration files (typically in ~/.purple/ or equivalent user configuration directory) for UPnP-related settings, or check the Pidgin preferences interface for UPnP/NAT-PMP optionsAffected if UPnP or NAT-PMP functionality is explicitly enabled in the Pidgin configuration
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Assess network exposure to UPnP UDP packetsReview firewall rules or network perimeter filtering to determine if UDP packets on the UPnP service port can reach the Pidgin client from external sourcesAffected if The firewall permits unsolicited inbound UDP packets to the host running Pidgin on ports used by the UPnP service
A user is affected only if they have Pidgin version 2.0.0 installed with UPnP functionality enabled and exposed to incoming UDP packets.
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 dataDisable UPnP functionality in Pidgin or upgrade to a patched version if available; network-level filtering can block unsolicited UDP packets targeting the UPnP service port.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,456.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-2957 — 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-2008-2957 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