# CVE-2008-5183: Null dereference in n/a

> Local or remote attackers can crash the CUPS daemon by creating excessive RSS subscriptions, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Nov 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2008-5183, GHSA-9pqm-v858-jg26, RHSA-2008:1029

## What is CVE-2008-5183?

CVE-2008-5183 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Cups, published on 21 Nov 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

cupsd in CUPS 1.3.9 and earlier allows local users, and possibly remote attackers, to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) by adding a large number of RSS Subscriptions, which triggers a NULL pointer dereference.  NOTE: this issue can be triggered remotely by leveraging CVE-2008-5184.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-5183?

It affects 5 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups-lpd` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |
| `cups-lpd` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 1:1.2.4-11.18.el5_2.3 |

Products: Apple Cups, Apple Mac Os X, Apple Mac Os X Server, Debian Debian Linux, Opensuse Opensuse.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-5183?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2008-5183 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2008-5183 exists.

Public exploit code:

- CUPS 1.3.7 - Cross-Site Request Forgery (Add RSS Subscription) Remote Crash (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Cups

- [CVE-2008-5184](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5184/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-3641](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3641/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-0053](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-0053/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2012-6094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-6094/): Missing authorization in cups (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2010-2941](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2941/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-5183 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-5183 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Cups, published on 21 Nov 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-2008-5183 exists.

Affected product: Apple Cups. 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-2008-5183/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5183/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-5183
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-5183
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-5183

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5183/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.