CVE-2008-3068
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Crypto API 5.131.2600.2180 through 6.0, as used in Outlook, Windows Live Mail, and Office 2007, performs Certificate Revocation List (CRL) checks by using an arbitrary URL from a certificate embedded in a (1) S/MIME e-mail message or (2) signed document, which allows remote attackers to obtain reading times and IP addresses of recipients, and port-scan results, via a crafted certificate with an Authority Information Access (AIA) extension.
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 confidenceMicrosoft Crypto API (versions 5.131.2600.2180-6.0) in Outlook, Windows Live Mail, and Office 2007 performs CRL checks by following arbitrary URLs embedded in certificate AIA extensions. Attackers can craft malicious certificates in S/mime emails or signed documents that cause victim clients to connect to attacker-controlled servers, revealing when emails are opened, recipient IP addresses, and enabling port scanning of internal networks.
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= 2007= 2003= 2007= 2003= 2007= 2003= 2007= 2007= 2007= 2003CVSS 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 Windows Crypto API versionOpen regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography\OID\EncodingType 0\CertDllCreateCertificateChainEngine\CurrentVersion, or run 'wmic datafile where "name='crypt32.dll'" get Version' to find the crypt32.dll versionAffected if crypt32.dll version is between 5.131.2600.2180 and 6.0 (inclusive)
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Identify installed Microsoft Office products and versionsOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' to list installed Office components and their versionsAffected if Office 2007, Excel 2003/2007, Access 2007, Infopath 2003/2007, Groove 2007, OneNote 2003, FrontPage 2003, or Office Communicator 2007 is installed
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Verify if S/MIME or email certificate signing is enabledFor Outlook: File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Email Security. For Windows Live Mail: Check if S/MIME is configured in account settings. Look for installed S/MIME certificates or configured signed email profiles.Affected if S/MIME encryption or digital signatures are configured, or any email accounts have security certificates enabled
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Check for unexpected outbound network connectionsMonitor network traffic using Wireshark, netstat -an, or Windows Firewall logs while opening/syncing email. Look for connections to IPs or domains not belonging to legitimate CRL distribution points (such as crl.microsoft.com or your corporate CA)Affected if The client initiates outbound connections to arbitrary external IPs or domains when processing certificates
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Confirm affected applications using Crypto APIIdentify which applications (Outlook, Windows Live Mail, Excel, Word for opening signed documents) are installed and in use. Check running processes or installed programs list for: outlook.exe, wlmail.exe, excel.exe, winword.exe, groove.exe, onenote.exe, infopath.exeAffected if Any of these vulnerable applications are installed and used for handling S/MIME emails or signed documents
Environment is affected if Crypto API version (crypt32.dll) falls within 5.131.2600.2180-6.0 AND any affected Office/email application is installed with certificate or S/MIME features enabled, allowing arbitrary URL following in certificate AIA extensions.
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 dataApply Microsoft security updates to affected Windows and Office products to patch the Crypto API vulnerability. For legacy systems that cannot be patched, consider disabling automatic CRL checking in affected applications or implementing network filtering to block unexpected outbound connections from email clients.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-3068 — 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-2008-3068 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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- 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