Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2008-3889

Postfix 2.4 before 2.4.9, 2.5 before 2.5.5, and 2.6 before 2.6-20080902, when used with the Linux 2.6 kernel, leaks epoll file descriptors during execution of "non-Postfix" commands, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (application slowdown or exit) via a crafted command, as demonstrated by a command in a .forward file.

Security Impact Summary

CVE-2008-3889 is a security vulnerability that . Impacting 2 products from linux, from postfix 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

2008-09-12T16:56:20.587

Last Modified

2025-04-09T00:30:58.490

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv2: 2.1 (LOW)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: NONE
Integrity Impact: NONE
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-20

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Operating System	linux	linux_kernel	2.6	No
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4.0	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4.1	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4.2	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4.3	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4.4	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4.5	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4.6	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4.7	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.4.8	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.5.1	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.5.2	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.5.3	Yes
Application	postfix	postfix	2.6	Yes

References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2008-09/msg00004.html ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/31716 Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/31800 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/31982 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/31986 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/32231 ([email protected])
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200809-09.xml ([email protected])
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/4239 ([email protected])
http://securitytracker.com/id?1020800 ([email protected])
http://wiki.rpath.com/wiki/Advisories:rPSA-2008-0311 ([email protected])
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2008:190 ([email protected])
http://www.postfix.org/announcements/20080902.html Patch ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495894/100/0/threaded ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/496420/100/0/threaded ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/498037/100/0/threaded ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30977 ([email protected])
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-642-1 ([email protected])
http://www.wekk.net/research/CVE-2008-3889/ ([email protected])
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44865 ([email protected])
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/6472 ([email protected])
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-October/msg00271.html ([email protected])
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-October/msg00287.html ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2008-09/msg00004.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/31716 Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/31800 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/31982 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/31986 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/32231 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200809-09.xml (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/4239 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://securitytracker.com/id?1020800 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://wiki.rpath.com/wiki/Advisories:rPSA-2008-0311 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2008:190 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.postfix.org/announcements/20080902.html Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495894/100/0/threaded (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/496420/100/0/threaded (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/498037/100/0/threaded (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30977 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-642-1 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.wekk.net/research/CVE-2008-3889/ (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44865 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/6472 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-October/msg00271.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-October/msg00287.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

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 linux'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.