CVE-2008-4434
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in (1) uTorrent 1.7.7 build 8179 and earlier and (2) BitTorrent 6.0.3 build 8642 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long Created By field in a .torrent file.
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 confidenceStack-based buffer overflow in uTorrent 1.7.7 and BitTorrent 6.0.3 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long 'Created By' field in a malicious .torrent file. The vulnerability occurs during torrent file parsing when the client fails to properly validate the length of the Created By field before copying it to a fixed-size stack buffer.
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<= 1.7.7= 1.1.1= 1.1.3= 1.1.4= 1.1.5= 1.1.6= 1.1.7= 1.2= 1.2.1= 1.2.2= 1.3= 1.4<= 6.0.3= 3.9.1= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.0.4= 4.1.0= 4.1.1= 4.1.2= 4.1.3= 4.1.4CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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.
-
Check uTorrent versionOpen uTorrent, go to Help > About uTorrent. The version number is displayed in the dialog.Affected if The version is 1.7.7 or lower, or one of these: 1.1.1, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6, 1.1.7, 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.3, or 1.4
-
Check BitTorrent versionOpen BitTorrent, go to Help > About BitTorrent. The version number is displayed in the dialog.Affected if The version is 6.0.3 or lower, or one of these: 3.9.1, 4.0.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.3, 4.0.4, 4.1.0, 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, or 4.1.4
-
Confirm .torrent file parsing is enabledVerify the client can open and parse .torrent files. This is enabled by default in both uTorrent and BitTorrent.Affected if The client can parse .torrent files (default behavior)
You are affected if you run uTorrent version 1.7.7 or earlier (including 1.1.1 through 1.4) or BitTorrent version 6.0.3 or earlier (including 3.9.1 through 4.1.4) and parse .torrent files.
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.
dbcve · scopedDo not open untrusted .torrent files from unknown sources. Update to newer versions of uTorrent and BitTorrent clients that contain the security patch for this vulnerability.
uTorrent 1.8 or later; BitTorrent 6.1 or later
- 1. Close any running instance of uTorrent or BitTorrent client
- 2. Download the latest stable version of the affected client from the official vendor website (utorrent.com or bittorrent.com)
- 3. If possible, backup your existing settings (though new installations typically preserve settings automatically)
- 4. Install the new version over the existing installation
- 5. Restart the client and verify it launches successfully
- 6. Test with a .torrent file to confirm normal functionality
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4434 — 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-2008-4434 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