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JdkApplication · Sun

CVE-2008-5354

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-12-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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 Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for Sun JDK and JRE 6 Update 10 and earlier; JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 16 and earlier; and SDK and JRE 1.4.2_18 and earlier allows locally-launched and possibly remote untrusted Java applications to execute arbitrary code via a JAR file with a long Main-Class manifest entry.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-119

The program reads or writes outside the bounds of an allocated buffer, corrupting adjacent memory. With crafted input an attacker can overwrite control data and, with effort, redirect execution to their own code. Remediation ranges from bounds checking and safe library functions to compiler mitigations, usually alongside a careful audit of the surrounding code.

General guidance for the memory buffer bounds error class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
JdkApplication
Affected:<= 5.0<= 6= 5.0= 6
JreApplication
Affected:<= 1.4.2_18<= 5.0<= 6= 1.4.2_1= 1.4.2_2= 1.4.2_3= 1.4.2_4= 1.4.2_5= 1.4.2_6= 1.4.2_7= 1.4.2_8= 1.4.2_9
SdkApplication
Affected:<= 1.4.2_18= 1.4.2_1= 1.4.2_2= 1.4.2_3= 1.4.2_4= 1.4.2_5= 1.4.2_6= 1.4.2_7= 1.4.2_8= 1.4.2_9= 1.4.2_10= 1.4.2_11

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 6
Vendor patch sunsolve.sun.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Java 6 Update 11+, Java 5.0 Update 17+, Java 1.4.2_19+, or migrate to modern Java 8/11/17/21 LTS

  1. 1. Identify all Java installations on the system using 'java -version' or checking common installation directories
  2. 2. Determine the current installed version - versions 1.4.2_18 and earlier, 5.0 Update 16 and earlier, and 6 Update 10 and earlier are affected
  3. 3. Uninstall or remove the vulnerable Java versions
  4. 4. Download and install a fixed version of Java (JDK/JRE 6 Update 11 or later, 5.0 Update 17 or later, or 1.4.2_19 or later)
  5. 5. Alternatively, upgrade to a modern supported Java LTS version (Java 8, 11, 17, or 21) which includes this fix
  6. 6. Verify the installation by running 'java -version' and confirming the version number
  7. 7. Ensure any applications using the old Java path are updated to reference the new installation
Caveat Legacy applications written for older Java versions may require testing for compatibility when upgrading to newer Java versions; some deprecated APIs may need updates

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can identify the exact fixed release, upgrade, and verify it in staging — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

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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-2008-5354 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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