CVE-2008-5440
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 · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in the TimesTen Data Server component in Oracle Database 7.0.5.0.0 allows remote attackers to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability via unknown vectors. NOTE: the previous information was obtained from the January 2009 CPU. Oracle has not commented on reliable researcher claims that this is a format string vulnerability via the msg parameter in the evtdump CGI module.
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 · moderate confidenceFormat string vulnerability in the evtdump CGI module of Oracle TimesTen Data Server (7.0.5.0.0), where the msg parameter does not properly sanitize user input, allowing remote unauthenticated attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service.
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= 7.0.5.0.0CVSS 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 Oracle TimesTen is installedLook for TimesTen installation directories (common paths: /opt/TimesTen, /u01/app/oracle/product, C:\Program Files\TimesTen), or check for running processes named 'timesten' or 'ttdaemon'Affected if TimesTen software is present on the system
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Determine the installed TimesTen versionRun 'ttVersion' command from the TimesTen bin directory, or check the version file in the installation directory (version.xml or tt_version), or query the built-in TimesTen version functionAffected if The installed version is exactly 7.0.5.0.0
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Locate the evtdump CGI moduleSearch for 'evtdump' file in the TimesTen web documentation directory (typically under tt_home/ttdoc/ or /ttdoc/), or look for CGI scripts in the instance's web directoryAffected if The evtdump CGI executable file exists in the installation
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Check if evtdump is network accessibleReview web server configuration for TimesTen, check if port 8080 or the TimesTen web documentation port is listening, and verify if the evtdump CGI is exposed via HTTP/HTTPSAffected if The evtdump CGI is accessible over the network (not disabled or firewalled)
You are affected only if TimesTen version 7.0.5.0.0 is installed AND the evtdump CGI module is network-accessible, allowing remote unauthenticated access to the vulnerable msg parameter.
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 dataApply Oracle Critical Patch Update (January 2009). If patching is not immediately possible, disable or restrict network access to the evtdump CGI module and implement network segmentation to limit exposure.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-5440 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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