CVE-2008-5680
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 · uneditedMultiple buffer overflows in Opera before 9.63 might allow (1) remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted text area, or allow (2) user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long host name in a file: URL. NOTE: this might overlap CVE-2008-5178.
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 confidenceMultiple buffer overflow vulnerabilities in Opera browsers prior to version 9.63 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code through (1) a crafted text area element, or (2) a specially crafted file: URL containing an excessively long host name. Both vulnerabilities stem from insufficient bounds checking when processing user input in these contexts.
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<= 9.62= 1.00= 2.00= 2.10= 2.12= 3.00= 3.10= 3.21= 3.50= 3.51= 3.60= 3.61CVSS 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
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 Opera browser is installedCheck common installation paths: C:\Program Files\Opera\opera.exe on Windows, /Applications/Opera.app on macOS, or /usr/bin/opera on Linux. Also check Start menu or application directories.Affected if Opera browser is found on the system
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Determine installed Opera versionLaunch Opera, then navigate to Help > About Opera, or right-click the opera.exe file and select Properties > Details to view the version number.Affected if The version is 9.62 or lower, or matches one of these specific versions: 1.00, 2.00, 2.10, 2.12, 3.00, 3.10, 3.21, 3.50, 3.51, 3.60, or 3.61
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Verify text area handling is accessibleThis vulnerability triggers when Opera processes a crafted text area element in web content. Check if users can browse untrusted websites or view HTML content with text area elements.Affected if Users can access web content and the installed Opera version is in the affected range
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Verify file: URL handling is accessibleThis vulnerability triggers when Opera processes a file: URL containing an excessively long hostname. Check if users can open or navigate to file: URLs, including from untrusted HTML pages or bookmarks.Affected if Users can access file: URLs and the installed Opera version is in the affected range
A user is affected if Opera browser version 9.62 or lower is installed and users can access web content or file: URLs, as both the text area overflow and the long hostname file: URL overflow require user interaction with crafted content.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade Opera to version 9.63 or later to remediate both buffer overflow vulnerabilities. In enterprise environments, deploy the browser update through patch management systems and verify successful installation across all affected workstations.
Opera Browser 9.63
- 1. Download Opera Browser version 9.63 or later from the official Opera website (www.opera.com)
- 2. Close all running instances of Opera Browser
- 3. Install the updated version of Opera Browser
- 4. Verify the installed version by checking Help > About Opera to confirm version 9.63 or higher is installed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-5680 — 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-2008-5680 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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