# CVE-2008-2955: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash the Pidgin instant messaging client by sending a specially crafted long filename via MSN messages.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Jul 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2008-2955, GHSA-573h-wp83-cr6f

## What is CVE-2008-2955?

CVE-2008-2955 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Pidgin Pidgin, published on 1 Jul 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Pidgin 2.4.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a long filename that contains certain characters, as demonstrated using an MSN message that triggers the crash in the msn_slplink_process_msg function.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-2955?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pidgin Pidgin.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-2955?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2008-2955 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2008-2955 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Pidgin 2.4.2 - 'msn_slplink_process_msg()' Denial of Service (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Pidgin Pidgin

- [CVE-2013-6490](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6490/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2016-1000030](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1000030/): Code injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2013-6486](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6486/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2011-3185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3185/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2009-1376](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1376/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-2955 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-2955 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Pidgin Pidgin, published on 1 Jul 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2008-2955 exists.

Affected product: Pidgin Pidgin. 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-2008-2955/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-2955/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-2955
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-2955
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-2955

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-2955/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.