CVE-2008-3285
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 Filesys::SmbClientParser module 2.7 and earlier for Perl allows remote SMB servers to execute arbitrary code via a folder name containing shell metacharacters.
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 Filesys::SmbClientParser Perl module versions 2.7 and earlier does not properly sanitize folder names received from remote SMB servers before passing them to shell commands. An attacker controlling a malicious SMB server can embed shell metacharacters (such as backticks, semicolons, or pipe operators) in folder names to inject and execute arbitrary code on the client system connecting to the SMB share.
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= 2.1= 2.2= 2.3= 2.4= 2.5= 2.6= 2.7CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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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Check if Filesys::SmbClientParser is installedRun 'perl -MFilesys::SmbClientParser -e "print $Filesys::SmbClientParser::VERSION"' or list installed Perl modules with 'cpan -l | grep -i smbclientparser'Affected if The module is not installed - you are not affected. If installed, proceed to next check.
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Determine the installed versionCompare the version number from step 1 against the affected range: versions 2.1 through 2.7Affected if If version is 2.7 or earlier, you are in the affected range. Proceed to next check.
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Identify scripts using this moduleSearch your codebase for 'use Filesys::SmbClientParser' or 'require Filesys::SmbClientParser' statements using 'grep -r "Filesys::SmbClientParser" /path/to/code'Affected if If no scripts use this module to connect to SMB servers, the vulnerability is not exploitable in your environment.
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Verify SMB client usage patternReview the identified scripts to confirm they connect to remote SMB servers and process folder names returned from those connectionsAffected if If your scripts connect to remote SMB servers (especially untrusted or external ones) and the module processes folder names without sanitization, you are vulnerable to code injection from a malicious SMB server.
You are affected if Filesys::SmbClientParser versions 2.1-2.7 is installed AND your systems use it to connect to remote SMB servers that could supply malicious folder names containing shell metacharacters.
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 to Filesys::SmbClientParser version 2.7.1 or later which implements proper shell metacharacter escaping. If upgrading is not possible, implement input validation to strip or escape shell metacharacters from folder names before processing.
- 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-2008-3285 — 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-2008-3285 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
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