# CVE-2008-3068: Information disclosure in n/a

> Remote attackers can disclose recipient IP addresses and reading times via crafted certificates in S/MIME emails or signed documents.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Jul 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-h5rm-gc4m-cp24

## What is CVE-2008-3068?

CVE-2008-3068 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Excel, published on 7 Jul 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Microsoft Crypto API 5.131.2600.2180 through 6.0, as used in Outlook, Windows Live Mail, and Office 2007, performs Certificate Revocation List (CRL) checks by using an arbitrary URL from a certificate embedded in a (1) S/MIME e-mail message or (2) signed document, which allows remote attackers to obtain reading times and IP addresses of recipients, and port-scan results, via a crafted certificate with an Authority Information Access (AIA) extension.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-3068?

It affects 17 products.


Products: Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Frontpage, Microsoft Groove, Microsoft Infopath, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Communicator, Microsoft Onenote, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Project Professional, Microsoft Project Standard, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Sharepoint Designer, Microsoft Visio Professional, Microsoft Visio Standard, Microsoft Windows Live Mail.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-3068?

No fix has been published for CVE-2008-3068 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2008-3068 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-3068 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel

- [CVE-2007-0671](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-0671/): Microsoft Office Excel Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2000-0788](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0788/): Code injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2015-2503](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2503/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2013-3155](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3155/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2013-3156](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3156/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-3068 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-3068 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Excel, published on 7 Jul 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-3068 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft Excel. 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-2008-3068/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3068/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-3068
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-3068
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-3068

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3068/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.