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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2008-3496

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-08-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.6.26.1 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
Buffer overflow in format descriptor parsing in the uvc_parse_format function in drivers/media/video/uvc/uvc_driver.c in uvcvideo in the video4linux (V4L) implementation in the Linux kernel before 2.6.26.1 has unknown impact and attack 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 · moderate confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the uvc_parse_format function within the USB Video Class (UVC) driver (uvcvideo) in the Linux kernel. The vulnerability exists in format descriptor parsing, where improper bounds checking allows overflowing a buffer when processing maliciously crafted USB video device format descriptors.

MitigationUpdate Linux kernel to version 2.6.26.1 or later which contains the patched uvcvideo driver. As a workaround, the uvcvideo kernel module can be blacklisted or unloaded on systems not requiring USB video device support.

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:< 2.6.26.1

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. Check kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or read /proc/version to obtain the running kernel version number
    Affected if The version is lower than 2.6.26.1 (e.g., 2.6.25.x, 2.6.24.x, etc.)
  2. Verify uvcvideo module presence
    Check if the uvcvideo kernel module exists on the system by running 'modinfo uvcvideo' or looking in /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/media/video/uvc/
    Affected if The uvcvideo module is present on the system
  3. Determine if uvcvideo is loaded
    Run 'lsmod | grep uvcvideo' to see if the module is currently loaded in memory
    Affected if The uvcvideo module is currently loaded (listed in lsmod output)
  4. Check for USB video device support
    Examine /sys/class/video4linux/ or run 'ls /dev/video*' to see if any video capture devices are present
    Affected if USB video devices are detected on the system

A system is affected if it runs a kernel version earlier than 2.6.26.1 AND has the uvcvideo module available or loaded, particularly when USB video devices are used.

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 2.6.26.1 or later
Fixed in 2.6.26.1
Interim mitigation

Update Linux kernel to version 2.6.26.1 or later which contains the patched uvcvideo driver. As a workaround, the uvcvideo kernel module can be blacklisted or unloaded on systems not requiring USB video device support.

Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 2.6.26.1 or later stable release

  1. Check current kernel version with 'uname -r' to confirm vulnerability status
  2. Back up critical data and system configurations before proceeding
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 2.6.26.1 or later using your distribution's package manager (e.g., 'apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-2.6.26' for Debian/Ubuntu, or 'yum update kernel' for RHEL/CentOS)
  4. Alternatively, download and compile kernel 2.6.26.1 or a later stable release from www.kernel.org
  5. After installation, reboot the system to load the new kernel
  6. Verify the new kernel version is running with 'uname -r' and confirm it is 2.6.26.1 or higher
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding third-party modules; ensure compatibility with the new kernel version before production deployment

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

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2008-3496 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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