CVE-2008-1801

Exp

Integer underflow in the iso_recv_msg function (iso.c) in rdesktop 1.5.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) request with a small length field.

Published: 2008-05-12 Last update: 2026-04-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2008-1801 is rated High Exploit Risk (80.7/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 13.13%, 96th percentile). Core evidence: 2 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2008-1801

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
5561 exploit_db edb 2008-05-08 Exploit-DB ↗
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2008-1801

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 2026-06-15 36.73% 13.13% -23.60%
2 2026-03-01 43.22% 36.73% -6.49%
3 2025-12-20 43.22%

Full EPSS history (15 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2008-1801

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-2008-1801

OS Trackers for CVE-2008-1801

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2008-1801 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (rdesktop), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2008-1801
gentoo normal CVE-2008-1801: 1 GLSA(s) (200806-04), 1 atom(s) (net-misc/rdesktop); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2008-1801
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2008-1801
ubuntu medium CVE-2008-1801 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (rdesktop), 5 status rows across 5 suites (dapper, feisty, gutsy, hardy, upstream): released 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2008-1801

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2008-1801

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
rdesktop rdesktop 1.5.0 cpe:2.3:a:rdesktop:rdesktop:1.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2008-1801

URL Tags
http://labs.idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/display.php?id=696
http://rdesktop.cvs.sourceforge.net/rdesktop/rdesktop/iso.c?r1=1.19&r2=1.20&pathrev=HEAD Exploit
http://secunia.com/advisories/30118
http://secunia.com/advisories/30248
http://secunia.com/advisories/30380
http://secunia.com/advisories/30713
http://secunia.com/advisories/31222
http://secunia.com/advisories/31224
http://secunia.com/advisories/31928
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200806-04.xml
http://slackware.com/security/viewer.php?l=slackware-security&y=2008&m=slackware-security.395286
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-240708-1
http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2008-360.htm
http://www.debian.org/security/2008/dsa-1573
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2008:101
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-May/msg00244.html
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-May/msg00270.html
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-May/msg00296.html
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2008-0575.html
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2008-0576.html
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2008-0725.html
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/29097
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1019990
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-646-1
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/1467/references
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/2403
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/42272
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A11570
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/5561
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