CVE-2008-3294 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2008-3294
Vulnerability Scoring

3.7
/10
Moderate Severity

The moderate security impact of CVE-2008-3294 suggests it should be monitored but does not pose an immediate threat.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: High
    Exploits require significant effort and special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Local
    Local access is required to exploit this vulnerability.
  • Privileges Required: None
    No authentication is required for exploitation.
  • Scope:
    Impact is confined to the initially vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2008-3294 Details

Status: Deferred

Last updated: 🕧 09 Apr 2025, 00:30 UTC
Originally published on: 🕡 24 Jul 2008, 18:41 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 6102 days

CVSS Release: version 2

CVE-2008-3294 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2008-3294: src/configure.in in Vim 5.0 through 7.1, when used for a build with Python support, does not ensure that the Makefile-conf temporary file has the intended ownership and permissions, which allows local users to execute arbitrary code by modifying this file during a time window, or by creating it ahead of time with permissions that prevent its modification by configure.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2008-3294

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2008-3294 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2008-3294

CVE-2008-3294 requires high complexity, reducing its exploitability but still posing a risk.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2008-3294, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2008-3294, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: None
    CVE-2008-3294 does not compromise confidentiality.
  • Integrity: None
    CVE-2008-3294 does not impact data integrity.
  • Availability: None
    CVE-2008-3294 does not affect system availability.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.042% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 5.07% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 94.93% of others.

CVE-2008-3294 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-94

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Code Injection CAPEC-242 An adversary exploits a weakness in input validation on the target to inject new code into that which is currently executing. This differs from code inclusion in that code inclusion involves the addition or replacement of a reference to a code file, which is subsequently loaded by the target and used as part of the code of some application.
  • Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files CAPEC-35 An attack of this type exploits a system's trust in configuration and resource files. When the executable loads the resource (such as an image file or configuration file) the attacker has modified the file to either execute malicious code directly or manipulate the target process (e.g. application server) to execute based on the malicious configuration parameters. Since systems are increasingly interrelated mashing up resources from local and remote sources the possibility of this attack occurring is high.
  • Manipulating User-Controlled Variables CAPEC-77 This attack targets user controlled variables (DEBUG=1, PHP Globals, and So Forth). An adversary can override variables leveraging user-supplied, untrusted query variables directly used on the application server without any data sanitization. In extreme cases, the adversary can change variables controlling the business logic of the application. For instance, in languages like PHP, a number of poorly set default configurations may allow the user to override variables.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Protect Your Infrastructure against CVE-2008-3294: Combat Critical CVE Threats

Stay updated with real-time CVE vulnerabilities and take action to secure your systems. Enhance your cybersecurity posture with the latest threat intelligence and mitigation techniques. Develop the skills necessary to defend against CVEs and secure critical infrastructures. Join the top cybersecurity professionals safeguarding today's infrastructures.

Other 5 Recently Published CVEs Vulnerabilities

  • CVE-2024-13793 – The Wolmart | Multi-Vendor Marketplace WooCommerce Theme theme for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, ...
  • CVE-2025-32873 – An issue was discovered in Django 4.2 before 4.2.21, 5.1 before 5.1.9, and 5.2 before 5.2.1. The django.utils.html.strip_tags() function is vulnera...
  • CVE-2024-55651 – i-Educar is free, fully online school management software. Version 2.9 of the application fails to properly validate and sanitize user supplied inp...
  • CVE-2025-46727 – Rack is a modular Ruby web server interface. Prior to versions 2.2.14, 3.0.16, and 3.1.14, `Rack::QueryParser` parses query strings and `applicatio...
  • CVE-2025-35939 – Craft CMS stores arbitrary content provided by unauthenticated users in session files. This content could be accessed and executed, possibly using ...