CVE-2008-4910
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 BasicService in Sun Java Web Start allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs on a client machine via a file:// URL argument to the showDocument method.
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 BasicService component in Sun Java Web Start contains a vulnerability that allows the showDocument method to be exploited via specially crafted file:// URLs, enabling remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs on vulnerable client machines.
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.
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Check if Java Web Start is installedOn Windows, open Command Prompt and run 'javaws -version' or look for javaws.exe in the Java installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\Java\jreX\bin\javaws.exe). On Linux/Mac, run 'which javaws' or check /usr/bin/javawsAffected if The command returns a version number or the executable exists, meaning Java Web Start is present on the system
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Verify the Java Web Start installation pathCheck the Windows registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Web Start for the InstallPath value, or look in typical installation directories like C:\Program Files\Java\ or the JRE directory under the Java installationAffected if A Java Web Start installation path is found in registry or file system
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Confirm Java Web Start component availabilityRun 'javaws -help' to verify the javaws executable is functional and accessible from the command lineAffected if The javaws command executes without errors, confirming the component is available and could be invoked by malicious applications
If Java Web Start is installed on the system (regardless of version), the environment is affected because all versions of Sun Java Web Start are vulnerable to this flaw.
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 Sun Java Web Start to a patched version, or disable Java Web Start if not required, to prevent exploitation via malicious file:// URLs.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4910 — 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-2008-4910 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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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