CVE-2008-3975
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 the Oracle Portal component in Oracle Application Server 9.0.4.3 and 10.1.2.3 allows remote attackers to affect integrity via unknown vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-3977.
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 · low confidenceUnspecified vulnerability in the Oracle Portal component of Oracle Application Server versions 9.0.4.3 and 10.1.2.3 allows remote attackers to affect integrity through unknown attack vectors. This is distinct from CVE-2008-3977, indicating a separate flaw within the same component.
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= 9.0.4.3= 10.1.2.3CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
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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Identify if Oracle Application Server is installedCheck for Oracle Application Server installation directories such as $ORACLE_HOME/Apache or look for Oracle HTTP Server processes running. On Windows, check Services for 'Oracle HTTP Server' or 'Oracle Application Server' entries.Affected if No Oracle Application Server is found - the environment is not affected.
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Determine the Oracle Application Server versionRun the command 'opatch lsinventory' from the Oracle Home directory, or check the file $ORACLE_HOME/oraInst.loc for version information. Alternatively, query the Oracle Portal login page which often displays version information in the footer.Affected if The installed version is exactly 9.0.4.3 or exactly 10.1.2.3 - the environment is affected.
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Verify if Oracle Portal component is enabledCheck the Oracle Application Server configuration files in $ORACLE_HOME/Apache/modplsql/conf/ for datasource configurations, or access the Oracle Portal URL (typically /pls/portal) to confirm Portal is accessible.Affected if Oracle Portal is not deployed or not accessible - the vulnerability may not be exploitable even with affected versions.
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Confirm the exact patch level of the installationRun 'opatch lsinventory -detail' and examine the installed patch set version. Cross-reference with Oracle's Critical Patch Update documentation for October 2008 to see if the relevant security patches for CVE-2008-3975 have been applied.Affected if The installation shows version 9.0.4.3 or 10.1.2.3 with no October 2008 CPU patches applied - the environment is vulnerable.
The environment is affected only if Oracle Application Server versions 9.0.4.3 or 10.1.2.3 are installed with the Oracle Portal component enabled and without the October 2008 Critical Patch Update applied.
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 dataApply the relevant Oracle Critical Patch Update for 2008, or upgrade to a supported Oracle Application Server version as these older releases are no longer actively supported.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-3975 — 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-2008-3975 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