# CVE-2008-1880: Auth bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass SYSDBA authentication and access sensitive database information due to a default configuration setting in Firebird on Gentoo Linux.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 May 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wmfv-f2cm-4wp3

## What is CVE-2008-1880?

CVE-2008-1880 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 May 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The default configuration of Firebird before 2.0.3.12981.0-r6 on Gentoo Linux sets the ISC_PASSWORD environment variable before starting Firebird, which allows remote attackers to bypass SYSDBA authentication and obtain sensitive database information via an empty password.

Weakness: CWE-255

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-1880?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Firebird Firebird.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-1880?

No fix has been published for CVE-2008-1880 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2008-1880 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-1880 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-1880 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-1880 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 May 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-1880 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-2008-1880/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-1880/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-1880
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-1880
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-1880

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-1880/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.