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NewsbeuterApplication

CVE-2008-3907

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-09-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.0 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The open-in-browser command in newsbeuter before 1.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in a feed URL.

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

The open-in-browser functionality in newsbeuter before version 1.1 does not properly sanitize feed URLs before passing them to shell commands, allowing remote attackers to inject arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters embedded in malicious RSS feed URLs.

MitigationUpdate to newsbeuter version 1.1 or later, which implements proper URL sanitization. If unable to update, avoid opening untrusted feeds and implement network-level filtering of suspicious URLs.

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
NewsbeuterApplication
Affected:<= 1.0= 0.1.1= 0.2= 0.3= 0.4= 0.5= 0.6= 0.7= 0.8= 0.8.1= 0.8.2= 0.9

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
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 installed newsbeuter version
    Run `newsbeuter --version` or check your package manager (e.g., `dpkg -l newsbeuter`, `rpm -qi newsbeuter`)
    Affected if Version is 1.0 or earlier (including 0.1.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.8.1, 0.8.2, 0.9)
  2. Verify open-in-browser feature is configured
    Examine the newsbeuter configuration file (typically ~/.newsbeuter/config) and look for the `browser` setting or any command configured for opening URLs
    Affected if A browser command is set (via `browser` config option) - without this, the vulnerable code path is not triggered
  3. Check for untrusted or custom feed sources
    Inspect your newsbeuter URLs file (default ~/.newsbeuter/urls) and any OPML imports for feed sources you do not control or trust
    Affected if You have added RSS feeds from untrusted or unknown sources that could contain malicious URLs with shell metacharacters

You are affected if you are running newsbeuter version 1.0 or earlier AND have configured the open-in-browser feature AND process feeds from sources you do not fully trust.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.0
Interim mitigation

Update to newsbeuter version 1.1 or later, which implements proper URL sanitization. If unable to update, avoid opening untrusted feeds and implement network-level filtering of suspicious URLs.

Fix this in Newsbeuter Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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-2008-3907 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