CVE-2008-4250

Microsoft Windows Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

Actively exploited (CISA KEV) High 10.0 CVSS 2.0

Description

The Server service in Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2 and SP3, Server 2003 SP1 and SP2, Vista Gold and SP1, Server 2008, and 7 Pre-Beta allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted RPC request that triggers the overflow during path canonicalization, as exploited in the wild by Gimmiv.A in October 2008, aka "Server Service Vulnerability."

Description as published by the source, in English.

Key facts

Published: 2008-10-23
Last modified: 2026-06-16
Assigned by: secure@microsoft.com
CVSS vector: AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Scored by: nvd@nist.gov (NVD Primary)
Probability of exploitation: 98.8 % among the highest of all known vulnerabilities
EPSS, next 30 days, model v2026.06.15
Fix available: Yes, see references

Actively exploited

CISA added this vulnerability to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2026-05-20, with a remediation deadline of 2026-06-03 for US federal agencies.

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Affected products

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status
Microsoft	Windows 2000	all versions listed	Affected
Microsoft	Windows Server 2003	all versions listed	Affected
Microsoft	Windows Server 2008	all versions listed	Affected
Microsoft	Windows Vista	all versions listed	Affected
Microsoft	Windows Xp	all versions listed	Affected

Weakness type

CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or b…
CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. This may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations tha…

Attack techniques

Derived through the weakness type: CVE to CWE to CAPEC to ATT&CK. This shows which techniques the weakness class is historically used for. It does not assert that this vulnerability has been exploited that way.

T1027.006: HTML Smuggling stealth
T1027.009: Embedded Payloads stealth
T1564.009: Resource Forking stealth

References

http://blogs.securiteam.com/index.php/archives/1150 Permissions Required
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=122703006921213&w=2 Issue Tracking, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/32326 Patch, Vendor Advisory
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/827267 Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/497808/100/0/threaded Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/497816/100/0/threaded Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/31874 Broken Link, Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1021091= Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA08-297A.html Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-088A.html Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/2902 Vendor Advisory
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2008/ms08-067 Patch, Vendor Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/46040 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A60… Broken Link, Third Party Advisory
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/6824 Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/6841 Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/7104 Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/7132 Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://blogs.securiteam.com/index.php/archives/1150 Permissions Required
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=122703006921213&w=2 Issue Tracking, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory

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Does this affect you?

A vulnerability matters only if you run the product, in an affected version, somewhere an attacker can reach.

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Sources and freshness

CVE

What it is: A reference number naming one specific vulnerability, for example CVE-2024-9474.
What it tells you: Which vulnerability we are talking about, and in which product.
What it does NOT tell you: Nothing about how serious it is, whether anyone is exploiting it, or whether it concerns you.
Why it matters: Without a shared number, vendor, authority and tooling cannot discuss the same flaw.
Used with the others: The number is the key. NVD, KEV and EPSS all describe the same CVE.

NVD CWE CISA KEV EPSS

How to read this together

No single value should be used on its own. A high CVSS score does not mean a vulnerability is being exploited, and a low one does not mean it is harmless. The four sources answer four different questions.

CVE names the specific vulnerability.
NVD adds severity and technical detail about it.
CWE describes the type of mistake behind it.
CISA KEV shows that it is already being exploited.
EPSS estimates how likely exploitation is soon.

The order that decides what is urgent

Do you actually have the product?
Is the version you run affected?
Is it listed in CISA KEV?
Does it have a high EPSS score?
Is the system reachable from the internet or from others?
How important is the system to the business?
Are there compensating controls already in place?

The first two questions are not about the vulnerability at all. They are about you, and they remove most of the list before you start.

A short example

Fix this week

CVSS 6,5 (medium)

In CISA KEV: yes
EPSS: 94 per cent
A firewall facing the internet

Can be scheduled

CVSS 9,8 (critical)

In CISA KEV: no
EPSS: 0,04 per cent
A test server with no internet access

Sorted by CVSS alone, the one on the right comes first. It is the more serious flaw in theory. But the one on the left is being used against real organisations right now, and it sits where an attacker can reach it. That is the one to fix first.

The critical one still has to be fixed. It just does not have to be fixed today.

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. CVE and the CVE logo are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation; CVE records are used under the CVE Terms of Use. CWE is a trademark of The MITRE Corporation, used per the CWE Terms of Use. KEV data from CISA (CC0). Exploitation probability from EPSS, a FIRST.org project. Open-source package data from OSV and the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

Scores and vectors are shown as published by the sources. The ordering of results is Berigo's own editorial assessment, described on the search page, and is not NVD data. An empty result never means a system is safe.