CVE-2008-3281
MEDIUMCVSS 6.5/10EPSS 2.51%
Last modified
CVE-2008-3281 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 6.5/10 on the CVSS scale. libxml2 2.6.32 and earlier does not properly detect recursion during entity expansion in an attribute value, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory and CPU consumption) via a crafted XML document.. EPSS estimates a 2.51% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.
Description
libxml2 2.6.32 and earlier does not properly detect recursion during entity expansion in an attribute value, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory and CPU consumption) via a crafted XML document.
Metrics
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness Enumeration
Affected Software
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Xmlsoft | Libxml2 | <= 2.6.32 |
| Apple | Safari | < 4.0 |
| Apple | Iphone Os | >= 1.0.0, < 3.0 |
| Fedoraproject | Fedora | 9 |
| Canonical | Ubuntu Linux | 6.06 |
| Canonical | Ubuntu Linux | 7.04 |
| Canonical | Ubuntu Linux | 7.10 |
| Canonical | Ubuntu Linux | 8.04 |
| Debian | Debian Linux | 4.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Desktop | 3.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Desktop | 4.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Desktop | 5.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Eus | 4.7 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Eus | 5.2 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Server | 2.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Server | 3.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Server | 4.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Server | 5.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Workstation | 2.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Workstation | 3.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Workstation | 4.0 |
| Redhat | Enterprise Linux Workstation | 5.0 |
| Vmware | Esx | 2.5.4 |
| Vmware | Esx | 2.5.5 |
| Vmware | Esx | 3.0.2 |
| Vmware | Esx | 3.0.3 |
References
- http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2009/jun/msg00002.htmlBroken Link, Mailing List
- http://mail.gnome.org/archives/xml/2008-August/msg00034.htmlMailing List, Patch
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31558Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31566Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31590Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31728Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31748Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31855Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31982Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/32488Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/32807Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/32974Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/35379Broken Link
- http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200812-06.xmlThird Party Advisory
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3613Third Party Advisory
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3639Third Party Advisory
- http://www.debian.org/security/2008/dsa-1631Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/497962/100/0/threadedBroken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30783Broken Link, Patch, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1020728Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-640-1Third Party Advisory
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2008-0017.htmlThird Party Advisory
- http://xmlsoft.org/news.htmlRelease Notes
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=458086Issue Tracking
- https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2008-0836.htmlThird Party Advisory
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/644-1/Broken Link
- http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2009/jun/msg00002.htmlBroken Link, Mailing List
- http://mail.gnome.org/archives/xml/2008-August/msg00034.htmlMailing List, Patch
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31558Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31566Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31590Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31728Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31748Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31855Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31982Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/32488Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/32807Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/32974Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/35379Broken Link
- http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200812-06.xmlThird Party Advisory
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3613Third Party Advisory
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3639Third Party Advisory
- http://www.debian.org/security/2008/dsa-1631Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/497962/100/0/threadedBroken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30783Broken Link, Patch, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1020728Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-640-1Third Party Advisory
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2008-0017.htmlThird Party Advisory
- http://xmlsoft.org/news.htmlRelease Notes
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=458086Issue Tracking
- https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2008-0836.htmlThird Party Advisory
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/644-1/Broken Link
Timeline
- Published
- Last Modified
- Status
- Modified
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2008-3281?
libxml2 2.6.32 and earlier does not properly detect recursion during entity expansion in an attribute value, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory and CPU consumption) via a crafted XML document.
How severe is CVE-2008-3281?
CVE-2008-3281 has a CVSS score of 6.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 2.51% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2008-3281?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.
How Strix Helps
- How Strix found a critical auth bypass in etcdStrix autonomously discovered a critical authentication bypass in etcd, later designated CVE-2026-33413.
- Autonomous PentestingAI agents that find and validate exploitable vulnerabilities like this one across your applications.
- PR ReviewsPentest every pull request so vulnerable code is caught before it ships to production.
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