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NetbsdOperating system

CVE-2008-3584

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-09-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
NetBSD 3.0, 3.1, and 4.0, when a pppoe instance exists, does not properly check the length of a PPPoE packet tag, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (system crash) via a crafted PPPoE packet.

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 confidence

NetBSD versions 3.0, 3.1, and 4.0 contain a vulnerability in the PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) implementation where the kernel fails to properly validate the length field of PPPoE packet tags. A remote attacker sending a crafted PPPoE packet with an invalid length value can trigger a kernel panic, resulting in a system crash.

MitigationApply the NetBSD security patch for this vulnerability. If patching is not immediately feasible, consider disabling PPPoE if not required, or implement network-level filtering to restrict unauthorized PPPoE traffic.

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
NetbsdOperating system
Affected:= 3.0= 3.1= 4.0

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify NetBSD version
    Run 'uname -a' or 'cat /etc/release' to determine the installed NetBSD version
    Affected if The version is 3.0, 3.1, or 4.0 specifically (other versions are not affected)
  2. Check for PPPoE kernel support
    Inspect kernel configuration or running kernel via 'sysctl net.pppoe' or check for pppoe kernel module loading
    Affected if PPPoE support is compiled into the kernel or loaded as a module (vulnerability only applies when PPPoE code is present)
  3. Look for PPPoE configuration
    Search for pppoe configuration files in /etc/ppp, /etc/pppoe, or check 'ifconfig -a' output for pppoe interfaces
    Affected if Any PPPoE interfaces are configured or exist on the system (the attack surface requires active or configured PPPoE)
  4. Check for active PPPoE sessions
    Run 'ifconfig -a' or 'netstat -an' to see if any pppoe interfaces are in state UP or have active connections
    Affected if There are active PPPoE connections or interfaces in UP state (vulnerability triggers when processing incoming PPPoE packets)
  5. Verify PPPoE daemon status
    Check if pppoed daemon is running via 'ps aux | grep pppoe' or check /var/run for pppoe-related files
    Affected if The PPPoE daemon is running and handling PPPoE traffic (daemon processes PPPoE packets containing the vulnerable tags)

System is affected if running NetBSD 3.0, 3.1, or 4.0 AND PPPoE is enabled, configured, or actively processing packets on the system.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the NetBSD security patch for this vulnerability. If patching is not immediately feasible, consider disabling PPPoE if not required, or implement network-level filtering to restrict unauthorized PPPoE traffic.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

NetBSD 5.x or later stable release

  1. 1. Identify all NetBSD systems running versions 3.0, 3.1, or 4.0 that have PPPoE enabled
  2. 2. Back up all critical data and system configurations before performing the upgrade
  3. 3. Download the latest stable NetBSD release (NetBSD 5.x or later) from the official NetBSD FTP or mirrors (ftp.netbsd.org)
  4. 4. Follow the NetBSD upgrade instructions for your specific hardware platform
  5. 5. After upgrading, verify that the system boots correctly and PPPoE functionality works as expected
  6. 6. Test that the system is no longer vulnerable to malformed PPPoE packet tags
Caveat Major version upgrades may require changes to system configuration files and may not support all legacy hardware or software

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

Fix this in Netbsd Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,970
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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-2008-3584 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