CVE-2008-5238
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 · uneditedInteger overflow in the real_parse_mdpr function in demux_real.c in xine-lib 1.1.12, and other versions before 1.1.15, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted stream_name_size field.
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 confidenceInteger overflow in the real_parse_mdpr function in demux_real.c allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted stream_name_size field. The overflow occurs when parsing the size value, leading to insufficient memory allocation and subsequent buffer overflow.
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<= 1.1.14= 0.9.13= 1= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.3a= 1.1.0= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3= 1.1.4CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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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Identify installed xine-lib versionRun 'xine-config --version' or check your package manager for xine-lib version (e.g., dpkg -l libxine1 or rpm -q xine-lib)Affected if The version number is 1.1.14 or lower, or matches any of these: 0.9.13, 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3a, 1.1.0, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4
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Verify Real Media demuxer is presentCheck for the demux_real plugin/module in the xine plugin directory (commonly /usr/lib/xine/plugins or similar), look for files named demux_real.so or equivalentAffected if The demux_real plugin exists and is available for loading by xine-lib
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Confirm the vulnerable code pathInspect the demux_real.c source file if accessible, or check xine-lib build for the real_parse_mdpr function handling stream_name_sizeAffected if The demux_real component processes Real Media streams without bounds checking on the stream_name_size field
You are affected if xine-lib version 1.1.14 or below (or any listed affected version) is installed AND the Real Media demuxer plugin is available and being used to parse untrusted Real Media streams.
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 xine-lib to version 1.1.15 or later which contains the fix for proper bounds checking on the stream_name_size field. If patching is not feasible, consider input validation or network-level restrictions on Real Media streams.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-5238 — 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-2008-5238 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
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