CVE-2008-5187
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 load function in the XPM loader for imlib2 1.4.2, and possibly other versions, allows attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted XPM file that triggers a "pointer arithmetic error" and a heap-based buffer overflow, a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-2426.
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 XPM image loader in imlib2 1.4.2 contains a pointer arithmetic error that leads to a heap-based buffer overflow when processing a specially crafted XPM file. This can cause denial of service (application crash) and potentially allow arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability stems from incorrect bounds checking during XPM file parsing.
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= 1.4.2CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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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Identify if imlib2 is installedRun 'pkg-config --modversion imlib2' or check package manager: 'dpkg -l | grep imlib2' (Debian) or 'rpm -qa | grep imlib2' (RHEL)Affected if imlib2 is present on the system
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Determine the installed imlib2 versionCompare the version output from pkg-config or package query to the affected version 1.4.2Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.4.2
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Check for applications linked against imlib2Run 'ldd $(which application) | grep imlib2' for suspect applications, or use 'ldconfig -p | grep imlib2' to see loaded librariesAffected if Applications that load XPM images are linked to imlib2 version 1.4.2
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Inspect XPM file processing usageReview application configuration or code to confirm it uses imlib2 for XPM image loading; check application logs for XPM-related operationsAffected if The application uses imlib2 to process XPM files from external or untrusted sources
You are affected if imlib2 version 1.4.2 is installed AND applications using imlib2 to process XPM files are in use.
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 dataUpgrade imlib2 to a patched version that addresses this vulnerability. Until patched, avoid loading XPM files from untrusted sources, as any application using imlib2 to process XPM images is affected.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-5187 — 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-2008-5187 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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