CVE-2008-5038

CVE-2008-5038 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Novell Edirectory with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. 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-416.

Key facts

• Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
• CVSS v2: 10.0
• EPSS exploit prediction: 6% (93rd percentile)
• Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
• Weakness: CWE-416
• Affected product: Novell Edirectory
• Published: 2008-11-12
• Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

Use-after-free vulnerability in the NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) feature in Novell eDirectory 8.7.3 SP10 before 8.7.3 SP10 FTF1 and 8.8 SP2 for Windows allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via a sequence of "Get NCP Extension Information By Name" requests that cause one thread to operate on memory after it has been freed in another thread, which triggers memory corruption, aka Novell Bug 373852.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2008-5038?

Use-after-free vulnerability in the NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) feature in Novell eDirectory 8.7.3 SP10 before 8.7.3 SP10 FTF1 and 8.8 SP2 for Windows allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via a sequence of "Get NCP Extension Information By Name" requests that cause one thread to operate on memory after it has been freed in another thread, which triggers memory corruption, aka Novell Bug 373852.

How severe is CVE-2008-5038?

CVE-2008-5038 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2008-5038 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 6% (93rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2008-5038?

CVE-2008-5038 primarily affects Novell Edirectory. In total, 11 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2008-5038?

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-2008-5038 published?

CVE-2008-5038 was published on 2008-11-12 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

• http://labs.idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/display.php?id=748
• http://osvdb.org/48206
• http://secunia.com/advisories/32395
• http://support.novell.com/docs/Readmes/InfoDocument/patchbuilder/readme_5037180.html
• http://support.novell.com/docs/Readmes/InfoDocument/patchbuilder/readme_5037181.html
• http://www.novell.com/support/viewContent.do?externalId=3426981
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/31956
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1021117
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/2937
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/46138

Affected products (11)

• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.7.3:sp1:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.7.3:sp2:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.7.3:sp3:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.7.3:sp4:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.7.3:sp5:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.7.3:sp6:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.7.3:sp7:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.7.3:sp8:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.7.3:sp9:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:novell:edirectory:8.8:-:*:*:*:windows:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Novell Edirectory

• CVE-2009-0895 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Integer overflow in Novell eDirectory 8.7.3.x before 8.7.3.10 ftf2 and 8.8.x before 8.8.5.2 allows remote attackers to…
• CVE-2008-5094 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Heap-based buffer overflow in the NDS Service in Novell eDirectory before 8.8 SP3 has unknown impact and attack vectors.
• CVE-2008-5092 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Heap-based buffer overflows in Novell eDirectory HTTP protocol stack (HTTPSTK) before 8.8 SP3 have unknown impact and…
• CVE-2008-5091 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Buffer overflow in the LDAP Service in Novell eDirectory 8.7.3 before SP10a and 8.8 before SP3 allows attackers to…
• CVE-2008-4480 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Heap-based buffer overflow in dhost.exe in Novell eDirectory 8.x before 8.8.3, and 8.7.3 before 8.7.3.10 ftf1, allows…
• CVE-2008-4479 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Heap-based buffer overflow in dhost.exe in Novell eDirectory 8.8 before 8.8.3, and 8.7.3 before 8.7.3.10 ftf1, allows…

All CVEs affecting Novell Edirectory →

Other CWE-416 (Use After Free) vulnerabilities

• CVE-2026-13782 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Use after free in Browser in Google Chrome prior to 150.0.7871.47 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the…
• CVE-2026-4725 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Sandbox escape due to use-after-free in the Graphics: Canvas2D component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 149…
• CVE-2026-4688 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Sandbox escape due to use-after-free in the Disability Access APIs component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox…
• CVE-2025-24085 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3,…
• CVE-2024-43102 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Concurrent removals of certain anonymous shared memory mappings by using the UMTX_SHM_DESTROY sub-request of…
• CVE-2021-32495 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Radare2 has a use-after-free vulnerability in pyc parser's get_none_object function. Attacker can read freed memory…

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