CVE-2008-4227
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 · uneditedApple iPhone OS 1.0 through 2.1 and iPhone OS for iPod touch 1.1 through 2.1 changes the encryption level of PPTP VPN connections to a lower level than was previously used, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain sensitive information or hijack a connection by decrypting network traffic.
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 confidenceApple iPhone OS 1.0 through 2.1 and iPod touch 1.1 through 2.1 implemented a weakened encryption level for PPTP VPN connections compared to prior versions, reducing the cryptographic strength and enabling remote attackers to decrypt traffic or hijack sessions.
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= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.1= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3= 1.1.4= 1.1.5= 2.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2CVSS 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.
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Check iOS version on the deviceNavigate to Settings > General > About on the iPhone or iPod touch and note the 'Version' fieldAffected if The version listed is 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 2.0, 2.0.1, or 2.0.2 (iPod touch affected from 1.1 through 2.1) and the device is an iPhone or iPod touch model supported by these OS versions
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Verify PPTP VPN configurationNavigate to Settings > General > Network > VPN on the device and check if a VPN configuration exists and is set to use PPTP protocolAffected if A PPTP-based VPN profile is configured and enabled on the device
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Confirm PPTP is actively in useCheck if the VPN status shows as connected using the PPTP protocol, or review VPN configuration profiles for PPTP tunnel settingsAffected if The device is actively establishing PPTP VPN tunnels
The device is affected only if it runs iOS 1.0 through 2.1 (or iPod touch 1.1 through 2.1) AND has PPTP VPN configured or in active use, as the weakened encryption applies specifically to PPTP connections on these versions.
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 dataUpgrade affected iOS devices to a version beyond 2.1, or migrate PPTP VPN connections to stronger protocols such as IPSec, OpenVPN, or SSL-based VPNs.
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4227 — 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-2008-4227 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