The TCP implementation in (1) Linux, (2) platforms based on BSD Unix, (3) Microsoft Windows, (4) Cisco products, and probably other operating systems allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (connection queue exhaustion) via multiple vectors that manipulate information in the TCP state table, as demonstrated by sockstress.
CVE-2008-4609
This CVE was only ever scored under CVSS v2.0. NVD CVSS v2.0 base 7.1 — v2 rates that HIGH (v2 bands: LOW 0.0–3.9 / MEDIUM 4.0–6.9 / HIGH 7.0–10.0; v2 has no CRITICAL band). Vector AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C. CVSS v2 is an older, coarser metric than v3.1/v4.0 (no Scope, no User Interaction, no Attack Requirements), so it is not directly comparable to a v3 or v4 score. NVD has never re-scored this record under v3. EPSS predicts 32.1% exploitation probability in the next 30 days, which is reflected in EG Risk but does not lift the v2 base. Confidence: LOW.
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v2.0 (legacy)
- 7.1HIGHNVD never assigned a CVSS v3 rating to this CVE
- EG Score
- 7.1(low)
- EG Risk
- 52(Track)EG Risk 52/100SSVC: Track
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity71% × 45%Exploitation40% × 40%Automatability30% × 15%Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence. - EPSS PROB
- 32%
- EPSS %ILE
- 98%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
October 20, 2008
Last Modified
April 23, 2026
References (30)
- cve@mitrehttp://blog.robertlee.name/2008/10/conjecture-speculation.html
- cve@mitrehttp://insecure.org/stf/tcp-dos-attack-explained.html
- cve@mitrehttp://lists.immunitysec.com/pipermail/dailydave/2008-October/005360.html
- cve@mitrehttp://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=125856010926699&w=2
- cve@mitrehttp://searchsecurity.techtarget.com.au/articles/27154-TCP-is-fundamentally-borked
- cve@mitrehttp://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_security_advisory09186a0080af511d.shtml
- cve@mitrehttp://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_security_response09186a0080a15120.html
- cve@mitrehttp://www.cpni.gov.uk/Docs/tn-03-09-security-assessment-TCP.pdf
- cve@mitrehttp://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:150
- cve@mitrehttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/cpujul2012-392727.html
- cve@mitrehttp://www.outpost24.com/news/news-2008-10-02.html
- cve@mitrehttp://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-251A.html
- cve@mitrehttps://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-048
- cve@mitrehttps://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6340
- cve@mitrehttps://www.cert.fi/haavoittuvuudet/2008/tcp-vulnerabilities.html
Affected Packages
(4 across 4 ecosystems)
Debian:11(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | 5.10.103-1 ... 7.2~rc5-1~exp1 (496 versions) | — | — |
Debian:12(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | 6.1.106-1 ... 7.2~rc5-1~exp1 (335 versions) | — | — |
Debian:13(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | 6.12.100-1 ... 7.2~rc5-1~exp1 (160 versions) | — | — |
Debian:14(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | 6.12.100-1 ... 7.2~rc5-1~exp1 (160 versions) | — | — |
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 1× in last 7d / 9× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 105 total refreshes for this CVE.
- 2026-08-26 15:06 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-08-15 01:24 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-10 04:09 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-08-08 16:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-07 16:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-06 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-05 19:11 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-04 15:03 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-30 01:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-26 13:36 UTCEG score recompute▲ 7.10
- 2026-07-25 14:12 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-25 04:41 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-07-24 14:12 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-23 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-23 00:57 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-23 00:35 UTCEG score recompute▼ 0.30
- 2026-07-23 00:01 UTCEG score recompute▲ 0.30
- 2026-07-22 21:40 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-20 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-18 09:59 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-16 16:58 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-15 01:55 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-13 06:07 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-07-11 08:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-11 08:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-09 19:04 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-08 15:09 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-07 23:27 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-07-06 16:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-05 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-05 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-04 06:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-02 14:00 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 14:03 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 04:52 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-27 03:04 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-25 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-23 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-23 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 14:53 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 14:53 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-19 11:25 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-15 17:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-14 23:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-12 23:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-12 23:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-11 13:56 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 22:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 13:17 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-08 14:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 06:07 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-04 13:09 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-04 13:09 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-30 19:53 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-30 19:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
- 2026-05-29 13:40 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:37 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 19:43 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-05-26 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-24 16:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
Publicly available exploits
(1 reference)Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 GitHub PoC). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.
- GitHub PoCmrclki/sockstressFirst seen May 6, 2016
Sockstress (CVE-2008-4609) DDoS implementation written in Go
Open source ↗
Frequently asked(4)
What is CVE-2008-4609?
When was CVE-2008-4609 disclosed?
Is CVE-2008-4609 actively exploited?
How do I remediate CVE-2008-4609?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2008-4609
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2008-4609?
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