CVE-2008-3281
6.5 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2008-3281 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting xmlsoft libxml2. It was published on August 27, 2008 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
libxml2 2.6.32 and earlier does not properly detect recursion during entity expansion in an attribute value, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory and CPU consumption) via a crafted XML document.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from xmlsoft. Update libxml2 to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| xmlsoft | libxml2 | 0 | Affected |
| apple | safari | >= 0, < 4.0 | Affected |
| apple | iphone_os | >= 1.0.0, < 3.0 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2008-3281?
CVE-2008-3281 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting xmlsoft libxml2. It was published on August 27, 2008 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2008-3281?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2008-3281?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from xmlsoft. Update libxml2 to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2008-3281?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2008-3281 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
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