CVE-2008-4281
CVE-2008-4281 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Vmware Esx with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 9.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-22.
Key facts
- Severity: Critical (CVSS 2.0 base score 9.3)
- EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (78th percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- Weakness: CWE-22
- Affected product: Vmware Esx
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
Directory traversal vulnerability in VMWare ESXi 3.5 before ESXe350-200810401-O-UG and ESX 3.5 before ESX350-200810201-UG allows administrators with the Datastore.FileManagement privilege to gain privileges via unknown vectors.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2008-4281?
- Directory traversal vulnerability in VMWare ESXi 3.5 before ESXe350-200810401-O-UG and ESX 3.5 before ESX350-200810201-UG allows administrators with the Datastore.FileManagement privilege to gain privileges via unknown vectors.
- How severe is CVE-2008-4281?
- CVE-2008-4281 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 9.3, rated critical severity.
- Is CVE-2008-4281 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (78th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- What products are affected by CVE-2008-4281?
- CVE-2008-4281 primarily affects Vmware Esx. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
- How do I fix CVE-2008-4281?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
- When was CVE-2008-4281 published?
- CVE-2008-4281 was published on 2008-11-10 and last updated on 2026-06-16.
References
- http://lists.vmware.com/pipermail/security-announce/2008/000042.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/32624
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/498138/100/0/threaded
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/32172
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1021155
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2008-0018.html
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/3052
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/46418
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6425
Affected products (2)
- cpe:2.3:a:vmware:esx:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:vmware:esxi:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
More vulnerabilities in Vmware Esx
- CVE-2013-1405 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): VMware vCenter Server 4.0 before Update 4b and 4.1 before Update 3a, VMware VirtualCenter 2.5, VMware vSphere Client…
- CVE-2007-0061 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The DHCP server in EMC VMware Workstation before 5.5.5 Build 56455 and 6.x before 6.0.1 Build 55017, Player before…
- CVE-2007-0063 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Integer underflow in the DHCP server in EMC VMware Workstation before 5.5.5 Build 56455 and 6.x before 6.0.1 Build…
- CVE-2012-1516 — Critical (CVSS 9.9): The VMX process in VMware ESXi 3.5 through 4.1 and ESX 3.5 through 4.1 does not properly handle RPC commands, which…
- CVE-2014-7169 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): GNU Bash through 4.3 bash43-025 processes trailing strings after certain malformed function definitions in the values…
- CVE-2014-6271 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): GNU Bash through 4.3 processes trailing strings after function definitions in the values of environment variables,…
All CVEs affecting Vmware Esx →
Other CWE-22 (Path Traversal) vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-76606 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Joomla Extension - fabrikar.com - Path Traversal via image element in Fabrik < 4.7.3 - ???.
- CVE-2026-18051 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The W3 Total Cache WordPress plugin before 2.10.5 does not properly validate the request path it uses to build cache…
- CVE-2026-74764 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Pandora contains a path traversal vulnerability in its TAR archive extraction functionality. When processing a…
- CVE-2026-16940 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The Custom Fields WordPress plugin before 1.5.1 does not validate a user-supplied file path before deletion, allowing…
- CVE-2026-67429 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Flyto2 Core is an execution kernel for automation and AI-agent workflows. Prior to 2.26.6, image.download and related…
- CVE-2026-59555 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Deletion in Participants Database <= 2.7.8.3 versions.