CVE-2008-4678
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 HTTP_Request_Parser method in the HTTP Transport component in IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) 6.0.2 before 6.0.2.31 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (controller 0C4 abend and application hang) via a long HTTP Host header, related to "storage overlay" on the stack and a "parse failure."
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 HTTP_Request_Parser method in IBM WebSphere Application Server 6.0.2 HTTP Transport component fails to properly validate the length of incoming HTTP Host headers. The excessive header length causes a storage overlay on the stack, leading to a controller 0C4 abend (abnormal termination) and application hang, resulting in denial of service.
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= 6.0.2= 6.0.2.1= 6.0.2.2= 6.0.2.3= 6.0.2.4= 6.0.2.5= 6.0.2.6= 6.0.2.9= 6.0.2.11= 6.0.2.13= 6.0.2.15= 6.0.2.17CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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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Determine WebSphere Application Server versionRun the versionInfo command from the bin directory of the WAS installation, or access the About WebSphere Application Server page in the admin console under Troubleshooting > Version InfoAffected if The installed version matches 6.0.2.x where x is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, or 17 (exact match to any of the listed affected versions)
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Verify HTTP Transport is in useConfirm the web container is running and accepting HTTP connections. Check the web container ports in the server configuration under Servers > Server Types > Web container transport chainsAffected if HTTP transport is enabled and the server accepts HTTP requests on configured ports (this is the default configuration)
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Review SystemOut.log for异常Examine the WebSphere SystemOut.log file located in the profile directory under logs/server1/ for Java exceptions related to header parsing or memory corruptionAffected if Exceptions mentioning header parsing failures, buffer overflow, or stack corruption appear in the logs after processing HTTP requests with long Host headers
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Check for controller 0C4 abendsReview native stderr logs and crash dump directories for abnormal termination events with reason code 0C4, which indicates a program check interruptAffected if The server has experienced 0C4 abends (controller program check) that correlate with periods of heavy HTTP traffic or requests with unusually long Host headers
You are affected if you are running any of the exact WebSphere Application Server versions 6.0.2 through 6.0.2.17 (specific fix packs listed) and the HTTP Transport component is enabled, which is the default state.
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 dataApply IBM WebSphere Application Server fix pack 6.0.2.31 or later, which contains the proper bounds checking for HTTP Host header parsing.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4678 — 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-2008-4678 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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- 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
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