# CVE-2008-3844: Supply chain in n/a

> Trojanized OpenSSH packages distributed via unofficial channels allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges on affected Red Hat systems.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Aug 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mmff-h39g-hgff

## What is CVE-2008-3844?

CVE-2008-3844 is a critical vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 27 Aug 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Certain Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4 and 5 packages for OpenSSH, as signed in August 2008 using a legitimate Red Hat GPG key, contain an externally introduced modification (Trojan Horse) that allows the package authors to have an unknown impact.  NOTE: since the malicious packages were not distributed from any official Red Hat sources, the scope of this issue is restricted to users who may have obtained these packages through unofficial distribution points.  As of 20080827, no unofficial distributions of this software are known.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-3844?

It affects 1 product.


Products: OpenSSH.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-3844?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2008-3844 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-3844 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-2008-3844 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-3844 is a critical vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 27 Aug 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-2008-3844 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-2008-3844/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3844/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-3844
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-3844
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-3844

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3844/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.