# CVE-2008-0779: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can exploit improper driver initialization to access kernel memory and execute arbitrary code, leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Feb 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m96x-25r6-m4w8

## What is CVE-2008-0779?

CVE-2008-0779 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Feb 2008. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The fortimon.sys device driver in Fortinet FortiClient Host Security 3.0 MR5 Patch 3 and earlier does not properly initialize its DeviceExtension, which allows local users to access kernel memory and execute arbitrary code via a crafted request.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-0779?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Fortinet Forticlient Host Security.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-0779?

No fix has been published for CVE-2008-0779 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2008-0779 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-0779 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-0779 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-0779 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Feb 2008. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-0779 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-0779/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-0779/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-0779
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-0779
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-0779

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-0779/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.