Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2008-2540


Apple Safari on Mac OS X, and before 3.1.2 on Windows, does not prompt the user before downloading an object that has an unrecognized content type, which allows remote attackers to place malware into the (1) Desktop directory on Windows or (2) Downloads directory on Mac OS X, and subsequently allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on Windows by leveraging an untrusted search path vulnerability in (a) Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP or (b) the SearchPath function in Windows XP, Vista, and Server 2003 and 2008, aka a "Carpet Bomb" and a "Blended Threat Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different issue than CVE-2008-1032. NOTE: Apple considers this a vulnerability only because the Microsoft products can load application libraries from the desktop and, as of 20080619, has not covered the issue in an advisory for Mac OS X.


Security Impact Summary

CVE-2008-2540 is a security vulnerability that . Impacting 6 products from apple, from microsoft, from microsoft and 3 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Originally identified in 2008, this vulnerability predates many modern security frameworks and practices. The vulnerability landscape of that era was characterized by different threat models and less mature defense mechanisms compared to contemporary standards.


Published

2008-06-03T15:32:00.000

Last Modified

2025-04-09T00:30:58.490

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv2: 9.3 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: MEDIUM
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
  • Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
  • Availability Impact: COMPLETE
Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-264

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application apple safari < 3.1.2 Yes
Application microsoft internet_explorer 7 No
Operating System microsoft windows_server_2003 * No
Operating System microsoft windows_server_2008 * No
Operating System microsoft windows_vista - No
Operating System microsoft windows_xp - No

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For apple's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.