# CVE-2008-5091: Memory corruption in n/a

> Attackers can crash the Novell eDirectory LDAP service via a buffer overflow in invalid extensibleMatch filters, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Critical 10.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/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:** No
- **Published:** 14 Nov 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p55f-37vx-wvm6

## What is CVE-2008-5091?

CVE-2008-5091 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Novell Edirectory, published on 14 Nov 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Buffer overflow in the LDAP Service in Novell eDirectory 8.7.3 before SP10a and 8.8 before SP3 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via vectors involving an "invalid extensibleMatch filter."

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-5091?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Novell Edirectory.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-5091?

No fix has been published for CVE-2008-5091 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2008-5091 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-5091 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Novell Edirectory

- [CVE-2009-0895](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0895/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-5092](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5092/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-5094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5094/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-4478](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-4478/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-4479](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-4479/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-5091 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-5091 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Novell Edirectory, published on 14 Nov 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-2008-5091 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Novell Edirectory. 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-2008-5091/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5091/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-5091
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-5091
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-5091

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5091/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.