CVE-2008-5538

Prevx Prevx1 2, when Internet Explorer 6 or 7 is used, allows remote attackers to bypass detection of malware in an HTML document by placing an MZ header (aka "EXE info") at the beginning, and modifying the filename to have (1) no extension, (2) a .txt extension, or (3) a .jpg extension, as demonstrated by a document containing a CVE-2006-5745 exploit.

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

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2008-5538 is rated High Risk (65.9/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.94%). Core evidence: EPSS rose +1.61% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. 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-2008-5538

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 0.33% 1.94% +1.61%
2 2025-03-30 0.83% 0.33% -0.50%
3 2025-03-29 0.83%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2008-5538

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-2008-5538

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2008-5538

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
prevx prevx1 2 cpe:2.3:a:prevx:prevx1:2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2008-5538

cvelogic Threat Intelligence