CVE-2008-5408

Buffer overflow in the data management protocol in Symantec Backup Exec for Windows Servers 11.0 (aka 11d) builds 6235 and 7170, 12.0 build 1364, and 12.5 build 2213 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (application crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors. NOTE: this can be exploited by unauthenticated remote attackers by leveraging CVE-2008-5407.

Published: 2008-12-10 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2008-5408 is rated High Risk (67.1/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 4.48%, 90th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. Mandatory action: 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-2008-5408

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 4.96% 4.48% -0.48%
2 2025-03-30 5.49% 4.96% -0.53%
3 2025-03-29 5.49%

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2008-5408

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
8.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2008-5408

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2008-5408

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
symantec backup_exec_for_windows_server 11d cpe:2.3:a:symantec:backup_exec_for_windows_server:11d:11.0.6235:*:*:*:*:*:*
symantec backup_exec_for_windows_server 11d cpe:2.3:a:symantec:backup_exec_for_windows_server:11d:11.0.7170:*:*:*:*:*:*
symantec backup_exec_for_windows_server 12.0 cpe:2.3:a:symantec:backup_exec_for_windows_server:12.0:12.0.1364:*:*:*:*:*:*
symantec backup_exec_for_windows_server 12.5 cpe:2.3:a:symantec:backup_exec_for_windows_server:12.5:12.5.2213:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2008-5408

cvelogic Threat Intelligence