CVE-2008-0888

The NEEDBITS macro in the inflate_dynamic function in inflate.c for unzip can be invoked using invalid buffers, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors that trigger a free of uninitialized or previously-freed data.

Published: 2008-03-17 Last update: 2025-05-01 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2008-0888 is rated High Risk (67.6/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 19.04%, 95th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2008-0888

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-11-16 21.94% 19.04% -2.90%
2 2025-10-07 16.90% 21.94% +5.04%
3 2025-09-25 — 16.90% —

Full EPSS history (21 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2008-0888

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2008-0888

OS Trackers for CVE-2008-0888

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2008-0888: 1 source package rows (unzip); 36 state rows across 6 repos (3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, 3.23-main, edge-main); fixed 0, open 36. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2008-0888
debian not yet assigned CVE-2008-0888 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (unzip), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2008-0888
gentoo normal CVE-2008-0888: 1 GLSA(s) (200804-06), 1 atom(s) (app-arch/unzip); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2008-0888
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2008-0888
ubuntu low CVE-2008-0888 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (unzip), 5 status rows across 5 suites (dapper, edgy, feisty, gutsy, upstream): released 4, needed 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2008-0888

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2008-0888

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
canonical ubuntu_linux 6.06 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:6.06:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 6.10 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:6.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 7.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:7.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 7.10 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:7.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple mac_os_x < 10.6.3 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 4.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
unzip_project unzip < 6.0 cpe:2.3:a:unzip_project:unzip:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2008-0888

URL Tags
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2010//Mar/msg00001.html Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2008-03/msg00008.html Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/29392 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/29406 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/29415 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/29427 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/29432 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/29440 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/29495 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/29681 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/30535 Broken Link Patch Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/31204 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200804-06.xml Third Party Advisory
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4077 Third Party Advisory
http://wiki.rpath.com/Advisories:rPSA-2008-0116 Broken Link
http://wiki.rpath.com/wiki/Advisories:rPSA-2008-0116 Broken Link
http://www.debian.org/security/2008/dsa-1522 Third Party Advisory
http://www.ipcop.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=40 Broken Link
http://www.mandriva.com/en/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2008:068 Not Applicable
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2008-0196.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/489967/100/0/threaded Broken Link
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/493080/100/0/threaded Broken Link
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/28288 Broken Link
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1019634 Broken Link
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-589-1 Third Party Advisory
http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2008-0009.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/0913/references Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/1744 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/41246 Third Party Advisory
https://issues.rpath.com/browse/RPL-2317 Broken Link
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A9733 Broken Link
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