CVE-2008-4032
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Gold and SP1 and Microsoft Search Server 2008 do not properly perform authentication and authorization for administrative functions, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (server load), obtain sensitive information, and "create scripts that would run in the context of the site" via requests to administrative URIs, aka "Access Control Vulnerability."
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 confidenceMicrosoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (Gold and SP1) and Microsoft Search Server 2008 contain an access control vulnerability where authentication and authorization are not properly enforced for administrative functions. Remote attackers can send requests to administrative URIs to cause denial of service through server load, obtain sensitive information, and execute scripts in the context of the site.
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= 2007= 2008CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify installed SharePoint Server versionOpen Central Administration > Help > About SharePoint Products and Technologies, or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\12.0\Setup\ProductVersionAffected if Version shows 12.0.0.6219 (2007 Gold) or 12.0.0.6327 (SP1)
-
Identify installed Search Server versionOpen Central Administration > Help > About Microsoft Search Server, or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\12.0\Setup\ProductVersion for Search Server 2008Affected if Version shows 12.0.x.x (any 12.0.x build of Search Server 2008)
-
Verify administrative URI accessibilityUsing a browser or HTTP tool, attempt to access /_layouts/admin.aspx or /_admin/ URLs without providing credentials (or while logged in as a non-administrative user)Affected if Administrative pages load without requiring authentication or proper authorization checks
-
Check for missing security patch MS08-077View installed updates via Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'get-hotfix -id KB957854' via PowerShell if the hotfix was appliedAffected if Security update KB957854 (MS08-077) is NOT installed
Environment is affected if running SharePoint Server 2007 (Gold/SP1) or Search Server 2008 AND administrative interfaces are accessible without proper authentication AND the MS08-077 patch is not 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 Microsoft security patch MS08-077 (or subsequent cumulative updates) to address the improper authentication/authorization. Additionally, restrict network access to administrative interfaces using firewall rules or IIS IP restrictions until the patch can be deployed.
- 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-2008-4032 — 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-2008-4032 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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