# CVE-2008-3259: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Local attackers can hijack X11 forwarding ports when X11UseLocalhost is disabled, bypassing security controls and potentially reading forwarded data.

- **Severity:** Low 1.2 (`AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** 22 Jul 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-33jf-4rqx-933q

## What is CVE-2008-3259?

CVE-2008-3259 is a low-severity vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 22 Jul 2008. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

OpenSSH before 5.1 sets the SO_REUSEADDR socket option when the X11UseLocalhost configuration setting is disabled, which allows local users on some platforms to hijack the X11 forwarding port via a bind to a single IP address, as demonstrated on the HP-UX platform.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-3259?

It affects 1 product.


Products: OpenSSH.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-3259?

No fix has been published for CVE-2008-3259 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2008-3259 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-3259 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in OpenSSH

- [CVE-2003-0786](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0786/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2003-0693](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0693/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2002-0640](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0640/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2001-0144](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-0144/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-0999](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0999/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-3259 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-3259 is a low-severity vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 22 Jul 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-2008-3259 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: OpenSSH. 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-2008-3259/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3259/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-3259
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-3259
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-3259

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3259/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.