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EdirectoryApplication · Novell

CVE-2008-4478

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-10-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.7.3.10 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
Multiple integer overflows in dhost.exe in Novell eDirectory 8.8 before 8.8.3, and 8.73 before 8.7.3.10 ftf1, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) Content-Length header in a SOAP request or (2) Netware Core Protocol opcode 0x0F message, which triggers a heap-based buffer overflow.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-189

A legacy NVD category grouping numeric mistakes — overflows, truncation, sign errors — where a miscalculated value goes on to drive a dangerous decision such as a memory allocation or a bounds check. It is a bucket rather than one specific bug. Remediation is checked arithmetic and validating any computed size or index before it is used.

General guidance for the numeric errors class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
EdirectoryApplication
Affected:<= 8.7.3.10= 8.7= 8.7.1= 8.7.3= 8.7.3.8= 8.7.3.8_presp9= 8.7.3.9= 8.8= 8.8.1= 8.8.2

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
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 8.7.3.10
Vendor patch support.novell.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

eDirectory 8.7.3.10 ftf1 (for 8.7.x) or eDirectory 8.8.3 (for 8.8.x)

  1. Navigate to the vendor patch page at http://support.novell.com/docs/Readmes/InfoDocument/patchbuilder/readme_5037180.html
  2. Identify your current eDirectory version (8.7.x or 8.8.x)
  3. For eDirectory 8.7.x: Download and apply patch ftf1 (8.7.3.10 ftf1)
  4. For eDirectory 8.8.x: Upgrade to version 8.8.3 or later
  5. Restart the dhost.exe service after applying the patch
  6. Verify the installation by checking the dhost.exe version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can identify the exact fixed release, upgrade, and verify it in staging — typical engagement from $1,950. Get the upgrade done

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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-2008-4478 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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