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Empire ServerApplication

CVE-2008-3169

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-07-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.3.11 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Multiple heap-based buffer overflows in Empire Server before 4.3.15 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, related to a "coordinate normalization bug." NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.

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 confidence

Multiple heap-based buffer overflow vulnerabilities in Empire Server versions prior to 4.3.15 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via unspecified vectors related to coordinate normalization processing.

MitigationUpgrade Empire Server to version 4.3.15 or later to address the coordinate normalization buffer overflows; apply network segmentation to limit exposure if immediate upgrade is not feasible.

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
Empire ServerApplication
Affected:<= 4.3.11= 4.2.10= 4.2.11= 4.2.12= 4.2.13= 4.2.14= 4.2.15= 4.2.16= 4.2.17= 4.2.18= 4.2.19= 4.2.20

CVSS 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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate Empire Server installation
    Identify the Empire Server binary or service on the system. Common locations include /usr/games/empire, /usr/local/empire, or check system services if Empire runs as a daemon.
    Affected if Empire Server binary or service is found on the system.
  2. Determine installed Empire Server version
    Run 'empire -v' or 'empire --version', check a version file in the installation directory, or use the system's package manager (dpkg -l, rpm -q) if installed via package.
    Affected if The command fails to return a version or returns a version number.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare the obtained version number to the affected list: 4.2.10, 4.2.11, 4.2.12, 4.2.13, 4.2.14, 4.2.15, 4.2.16, 4.2.17, 4.2.18, 4.2.19, 4.2.20, or any version prior to 4.3.15.
    Affected if The installed version matches any version in the affected list or is lower than 4.3.15.
  4. Verify Empire Server is running and processing data
    Check if the Empire Server process is active (ps aux, service status) and confirm it is accepting connections or processing game data.
    Affected if The server process is running and accessible.
  5. Confirm coordinate normalization feature is in use
    Review server logs or configuration to determine if coordinate-based game processing is active. The vulnerability triggers during coordinate normalization processing.
    Affected if The server is configured to process map coordinates or run in standard game mode.

A user is affected if Empire Server is running with a version from 4.2.10 through 4.2.20 or any version prior to 4.3.15, and the coordinate normalization processing feature is active.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.3.11
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Empire Server to version 4.3.15 or later to address the coordinate normalization buffer overflows; apply network segmentation to limit exposure if immediate upgrade is not feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.3.15 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current Empire Server version by checking the installed binaries or package management system
  2. 2. Backup all Empire Server configuration files, databases, and game data to prevent data loss
  3. 3. Download Empire Server version 4.3.15 or a later stable release from the official SourceForge project page
  4. 4. Stop the running Empire Server service to ensure a clean upgrade process
  5. 5. Install the new version by replacing the existing binaries with the downloaded ones
  6. 6. Restore the backed-up configuration files to the new installation
  7. 7. Start the Empire Server service and verify it runs without errors
  8. 8. Test that game functionality works correctly and the server accepts connections

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Empire Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-3169 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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