Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2008-4395
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 · uneditedMultiple buffer overflows in the ndiswrapper module 1.53 for the Linux kernel 2.6 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending packets over a local wireless network that specify long ESSIDs.
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 confidenceMultiple buffer overflow vulnerabilities exist in ndiswrapper 1.53 when processing IEEE 802.11 wireless network packets containing overly long ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) values. When a malicious access point broadcasts a long ESSID, the ndiswrapper module fails to properly validate the length before copying the string into a fixed-size buffer, allowing an attacker on the same local wireless network to overwrite stack memory and execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
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
Linux KernelOperating system
= 2.6
Linux KernelOperating system
<= 2.6.26CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:A/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 if ndiswrapper is installedRun 'dpkg -l ndiswrapper-utils' on Debian/Ubuntu or 'rpm -q ndiswrapper' on RHEL-based systems, or check for /usr/sbin/ndiswrapperAffected if ndiswrapper package or binary is present on the system
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Check ndiswrapper versionRun 'ndiswrapper -v' or 'modinfo ndiswrapper' to retrieve the installed version numberAffected if Version is 1.53 or if the version cannot be determined but ndiswrapper is present
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Verify if ndiswrapper kernel module is loadedRun 'lsmod | grep ndiswrapper' to check if the module is currently loaded in the kernelAffected if The ndiswrapper module appears in the list of loaded kernel modules
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Check kernel versionRun 'uname -r' to determine the running kernel versionAffected if Kernel version is 2.6.x (any 2.6 release) or Ubuntu kernel is 2.6.26 or earlier
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Identify wireless interfaces using ndiswrapperRun 'iwconfig' to list wireless interfaces, then check 'ls -la /proc/sys/net/wireless/' or inspect 'dmesg | grep ndis' for ndiswrapper activityAffected if A wireless interface is present and system logs or configuration indicate ndiswrapper is managing it
The system is affected if ndiswrapper version 1.53 is installed and the ndiswrapper kernel module is loaded, particularly on vulnerable kernel versions (2.6.x on any Linux distribution, or 2.6.26 and earlier on Ubuntu).
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 dataUpdate ndiswrapper to a patched version that properly validates ESSID length before buffer copy operations, or migrate to native in-kernel Linux wireless drivers (such as those supported by the iwlagn, ath9k, or rtl8187 drivers) which do not require the Windows NDIS wrapper.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4395 — 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-2008-4395 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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