# CVE-2008-5514: Memory corruption in n/a

> An off-by-one error in the UW c-client library allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a crafted email message.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/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:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 Dec 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2008-5514, GHSA-9m53-2xrc-rq26

## What is CVE-2008-5514?

CVE-2008-5514 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 23 Dec 2008. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Off-by-one error in the rfc822_output_char function in the RFC822BUFFER routines in the University of Washington (UW) c-client library, as used by the UW IMAP toolkit before imap-2007e and other applications, allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via an e-mail message that triggers a buffer overflow.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-5514?

It affects 1 product.


Products: University of Washington Imap.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-5514?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2008-5514 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-5514 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-1999-0920](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0920/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-0847](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0847/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2000-0284](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0284/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2000-1197](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-1197/): Race condition in n/a (low 2.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-5514 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-5514 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 23 Dec 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-2008-5514 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2008-5514/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5514/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-5514
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-5514
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-5514

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5514/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.