CVE-2008-4404
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 IPv6 Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP) implementation on IBM zSeries servers does not validate the origin of Neighbor Discovery messages, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (loss of connectivity) or read private network traffic via a spoofed message that modifies the Forward Information Base (FIB), a related issue to CVE-2008-2476.
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 IPv6 Neighbor Discovery Protocol implementation on IBM zSeries servers lacks origin validation for Neighbor Discovery messages. Attackers can send spoofed NDP messages to manipulate the Forward Information Base (FIB), causing denial of service or intercepting private network traffic.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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.
-
Verify IBM zSeries hardware platformIdentify the server model using system inventory tools (e.g., 'uname -m', 'lsconf', or hardware management interfaces). Confirm the system is an IBM zSeries mainframe.Affected if The system is not an IBM zSeries platform (this CVE specifically targets zSeries, other platforms are not affected by this particular vulnerability).
-
Determine if IPv6 is enabledCheck IPv6 configuration status. On z/OS, use 'NETSTAT' or 'DISPLAY TCPIP' commands. On Linux on zSeries, check /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/*/disable or use 'ip -6 addr show'.Affected if IPv6 is enabled and active - the NDP vulnerability only applies when IPv6 networking is in use.
-
Inspect Neighbor Discovery Protocol configurationReview NDP-related settings in the TCP/IP stack configuration. On z/OS, examine PROFILE TCPIP or VTAM definitions for NDP validation settings. Look for any NPDAUTH or Neighbor Discovery authentication/validation parameters.Affected if NDP message origin validation is not configured or is disabled; the system accepts NDP messages without verification.
-
Check IPv6 network access controlsReview firewall rules, RACF/SAF profiles (on z/OS), or network ACLs controlling IPv6 traffic. Determine if there are filters restricting which systems can send NDP messages to this host.Affected if IPv6 traffic from untrusted sources is not filtered; the system accepts NDP messages from any IPv6 host on the network.
A user is affected if their IBM zSeries system has IPv6 enabled and either lacks NDP origin validation or accepts NDP traffic from untrusted IPv6 sources.
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 dataImplement NDP message origin validation through IBM zSeries firmware updates and configure network access controls to restrict untrusted IPv6 traffic.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,048.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4404 — 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-2008-4404 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