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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2008-5025

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-11-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.6.28 or later.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
Stack-based buffer overflow in the hfs_cat_find_brec function in fs/hfs/catalog.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.28-rc1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption or system crash) via an hfs filesystem image with an invalid catalog namelength field, a related issue to CVE-2008-4933.

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 confidence

Stack-based buffer overflow in the hfs_cat_find_brec function in fs/hfs/catalog.c in Linux kernel versions before 2.6.28-rc1 allows attackers to cause denial of service via a specially crafted HFS filesystem image with an invalid catalog namelength field, leading to memory corruption or system crash.

MitigationUpgrade the Linux kernel to version 2.6.28-rc1 or later, or apply the relevant vendor patch. Avoid mounting untrusted HFS filesystem images from unknown sources.

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:<= 2.6.28= 2.2.27= 2.4.36= 2.4.36.1= 2.4.36.2= 2.4.36.3= 2.4.36.4= 2.4.36.5= 2.4.36.6= 2.6= 2.6.18= 2.6.19.4

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the running kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to obtain the kernel version
    Affected if The version is less than 2.6.28-rc1 AND belongs to the affected branches (2.2.x, 2.4.x, 2.6.x series up to 2.6.27)
  2. Verify if HFS filesystem support is available
    Check for loaded HFS modules with 'lsmod | grep hfs' or check /proc/filesystems for hfs/hfsplus entries
    Affected if The hfs or hfsplus module is loaded, or HFS support is present in /proc/filesystems
  3. Check if HFS is compiled into the kernel
    Inspect the kernel configuration file (usually at /boot/config-$(uname -r) or /proc/config.gz) for CONFIG_HFS_FS=y or CONFIG_HFSPLUS_FS=y
    Affected if HFS or HFSPLUS filesystem support is enabled in the kernel configuration (either as module =m or built-in =y)
  4. Identify any custom kernel builds
    Check if a custom or distribution-specific kernel is in use that may have a different version scheme, and review the source file fs/hfs/catalog.c for the presence of the vulnerable hfs_cat_find_brec function
    Affected if The vulnerable function exists in the compiled kernel and the version is not patched

You are affected if your kernel version is before 2.6.28-rc1 (within the 2.2.x, 2.4.x, or 2.6.x branches) AND HFS filesystem support is either loaded as a module or compiled into the kernel, allowing untrusted HFS images to be mounted.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.6.28
Interim mitigation

Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 2.6.28-rc1 or later, or apply the relevant vendor patch. Avoid mounting untrusted HFS filesystem images from unknown sources.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2008-5025 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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