CVE-2008-3335
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 · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in PunBB before 1.2.19 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary SMTP commands via unknown vectors.
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 confidenceSMTP command injection vulnerability in PunBB versions prior to 1.2.19 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary SMTP commands through unspecified vectors, likely due to unsanitized input in email handling functions.
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<= 1.2.18= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.1= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3= 1.1.4= 1.1.5= 1.2= 1.2.1= 1.2.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate PunBB installationSearch for PunBB files on the web server, typically in the document root. Look for directories containing 'punbb' or 'forum' with common PunBB file structures (index.php, viewforum.php, etc.).Affected if PunBB is found on the server
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Identify installed PunBB versionOpen the file 'include/version.php' in the PunBB directory and locate the PUN_VERSION constant, or check the admin panel footer which displays the version number.Affected if Version is 1.2.18 or lower, or matches 1.0.x, 1.1.x, or 1.2.x through 1.2.2
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Check if email functionality is enabledNavigate to the admin panel, go to Configuration settings, and check if the 'E-mail settings' section has email functionality enabled (either 'Use PHP mail()' or 'Use SMTP' is configured).Affected if Email functionality is enabled and configured
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Verify SMTP configuration presenceIf SMTP is selected as the mailer, examine the 'SMTP server address' and 'SMTP username/password' fields in the admin configuration to confirm SMTP is actively configured.Affected if SMTP mail delivery is selected and configured
The environment is affected if PunBB is installed with a version at or below 1.2.18 and email functionality (particularly SMTP) is enabled, allowing remote injection of arbitrary SMTP commands.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to PunBB 1.2.19 or later to obtain the patched version. If immediate upgrade is not possible, disable email functionality or restrict network access to the SMTP server.
PunBB 1.2.19
- Create a full backup of the PunBB database and all website files
- Download PunBB version 1.2.19 from the official PunBB repository or trusted source
- Extract the PunBB 1.2.19 package to a temporary directory
- Upload all new PunBB 1.2.19 files to the web server, overwriting the existing installation
- Review and update any custom modifications or extensions that may have been applied to the previous version
- Verify the upgrade was successful by accessing the forum and checking that core functionality works
- Check the PunBB admin panel to confirm the version is reported as 1.2.19
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-3335 — 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-2008-3335 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