CVE-2008-4221
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 · uneditedThe strptime API in Libsystem in Apple Mac OS X before 10.5.6 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) or execute arbitrary code via a crafted date string, related to improper memory allocation.
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 confidenceA memory allocation vulnerability exists in the strptime API within Libsystem on Apple Mac OS X versions prior to 10.5.6. When processing a specially crafted date string, the function performs improper memory allocation, leading to heap corruption that can cause denial of service or enable arbitrary code execution.
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<= 10.5.5= 10.4.11= 10.5= 10.5.1= 10.5.2= 10.5.3= 10.5.4<= 10.5.5= 10.4.11= 10.5= 10.5.1= 10.5.2= 10.5.3= 10.5.4CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Mac OS X versionRun 'sw_vers' in Terminal or open About This Mac from the Apple menuAffected if The version shown is 10.4.11, 10.5, 10.5.1, 10.5.2, 10.5.3, 10.5.4, or any build <= 10.5.5
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Confirm system typeRun 'uname -a' to verify if running Mac OS X or Mac OS X ServerAffected if The system is Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server
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Identify strptime usageReview any custom or third-party applications that perform date parsing using the strptime function, as this is the vulnerable API in LibsystemAffected if Applications or services on the system invoke strptime to parse date strings
The system is affected if it runs Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server version 10.4.11 through 10.5.5 and executes code that calls the strptime function to parse date strings.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later, or apply Security Update 2008-008 which contains the patched strptime implementation with corrected memory allocation handling.
Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later
- Back up all critical data before performing any system upgrade
- Download Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later from Apple or use Software Update to obtain the security update
- Install the Mac OS X 10.5.6 update (or later) following Apple's standard installation procedures
- Restart the system after the update is applied
- Verify the system has been updated by checking About This Mac > Software Update or running sw_vers to confirm the version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4221 — 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-2008-4221 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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- 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
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