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Net SnmpApplication

CVE-2008-4309

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2008-10-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Integer overflow in the netsnmp_create_subtree_cache function in agent/snmp_agent.c in net-snmp 5.4 before 5.4.2.1, 5.3 before 5.3.2.3, and 5.2 before 5.2.5.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a crafted SNMP GETBULK request, which triggers a heap-based buffer overflow, related to the number of responses or repeats.

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 confidence

Integer overflow in the netsnmp_create_subtree_cache function in agent/snmp_agent.c allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via crafted SNMP GETBULK requests. The overflow occurs when calculating heap buffer sizes based on the number of repeats/responses in the request, leading to heap-based buffer overflow and crash.

MitigationUpgrade net-snmp to version 5.4.2.1, 5.3.2.3, 5.2.5.1 or later. Until upgrade is possible, restrict SNMP access to trusted hosts only via ACLs or firewall rules.

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
Net SnmpApplication
Affected:= 5.2.5= 5.3.2.2= 5.4

CVSS 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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed net-snmp version
    Run 'snmpd -V' or 'net-snmp-config --version' to display the net-snmp daemon version
    Affected if Version is 5.2.5, 5.3.2.2, 5.4, or any version <= 5.4 before patches (compare to 5.4.2.1, 5.3.2.3, or 5.2.5.1)
  2. Confirm SNMP agent is running
    Run 'ps aux | grep snmpd' to check if the snmpd process is active, or check with 'systemctl status snmpd'
    Affected if The snmpd daemon is running and listening on UDP port 161
  3. Verify SNMP GETBULK is accessible
    Run 'snmpwalk -v2c -c public localhost' or test UDP port 161 with 'nc -u -z localhost 161'
    Affected if SNMP service accepts requests from network clients (not limited to localhost)
  4. Check SNMP community strings and ACLs
    Inspect /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf for community strings and access controls
    Affected if SNMP is accessible with default community strings (public/private) or no ACL restrictions are configured

You are affected if you run a vulnerable net-snmp version (5.2.5 through 5.4.x before patches) with the SNMP daemon exposed to untrusted network access.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade net-snmp to version 5.4.2.1, 5.3.2.3, 5.2.5.1 or later. Until upgrade is possible, restrict SNMP access to trusted hosts only via ACLs or firewall rules.

Fix this in Net Snmp Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-4309 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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