CVE-2008-4222
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 · uneditednatd in network_cmds in Apple Mac OS X before 10.5.6, when Internet Sharing is enabled, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via a crafted TCP 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 confidenceThe natd (Network Address Translation daemon) in Apple Mac OS X before version 10.5.6 contains a vulnerability when Internet Sharing is enabled. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted TCP packet to the affected system, causing natd to enter an infinite loop and become unresponsive, resulting in a denial of service condition.
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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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.
-
Check the Mac OS X versionRun 'sw_vers' or go to Apple menu > About This Mac to view the OS version numberAffected if The version is 10.5.5 or earlier, or 10.4.11, or any version 10.5.0 through 10.5.4 - these fall within the vulnerable range
-
Verify if Internet Sharing is enabledGo to System Preferences > Sharing and check if the Internet Sharing checkbox is selected, or run 'defaults read /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.nat' to check the NAT configurationAffected if Internet Sharing is turned on - this is the condition that activates the natd daemon and makes the vulnerability exploitable
-
Confirm the natd process is runningOpen Terminal and run 'ps -ax | grep natd' to list any running natd processesAffected if The natd process is actively running - this confirms the vulnerable component is loaded and could be exploited
A system is affected if it runs Mac OS X 10.5.5 or earlier (including 10.4.11 and 10.5.x versions up to 10.5.4) AND has Internet Sharing enabled, which activates the vulnerable natd daemon.
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 vendor patch by upgrading to Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later, which addresses the malformed packet handling in natd. Additionally, disable Internet Sharing if not required, and consider network segmentation to limit exposure of the natd service to untrusted networks.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4222 — 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-2008-4222 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