# CVE-2008-3493: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote VNC servers can crash the RealVNC Windows Client via crafted frame buffer update packets, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/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:** No
- **Published:** 6 Aug 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-h2jf-52qm-348c

## What is CVE-2008-3493?

CVE-2008-3493 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 6 Aug 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

vncviewer.exe in RealVNC Windows Client 4.1.2.0 allows remote VNC servers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted frame buffer update packet.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-3493?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Realvnc Realvnc Windows Client.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-3493?

No fix has been published for CVE-2008-3493 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2008-3493 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2008-3493 exists.

Public exploit code:

- RealVNC Windows Client 4.1.2 - Remote Denial of Service Crash (PoC) (exploitdb)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-3493 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-3493 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 6 Aug 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-2008-3493 exists.

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-2008-3493/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3493/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-3493
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-3493
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-3493

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3493/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.