CVE-2008-2540
Apple Safari on Mac OS X, and before 3.1.2 on Windows, does not prompt the user before downloading an object that has an unrecognized…
- 9.3HighCVSS base score
- 8.3%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 5.0% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
Apple Safari on Mac OS X, and before 3.1.2 on Windows, does not prompt the user before downloading an object that has an unrecognized content type, which allows remote attackers to place malware into the (1) Desktop directory on Windows or (2) Downloads directory on Mac OS X, and subsequently allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on Windows by leveraging an untrusted search path vulnerability in (a) Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP or (b) the SearchPath function in Windows XP, Vista, and Server 2003 and 2008, aka a "Carpet Bomb" and a "Blended Threat Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different issue than CVE-2008-1032. NOTE: Apple considers this a vulnerability only because the Microsoft products can load application libraries from the desktop and, as of 20080619, has not covered the issue in an advisory for Mac OS X.
Timeline
ID reserved
By mitre
Published
- 16 years later
· 16 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 2.0 | High9.3 | AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 8.3% · top 5.0% of all CVEs (9 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 9.3.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References
21
- 30467 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIAx_transferred
- ADV-2009-1028 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_VUPENx_transferred
- 1022047 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKx_transferred
- 1020150 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKx_transferred
- 29445 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/953818.mspx (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- ADV-2009-1029 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_VUPENx_transferred
- TA09-104A (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_CERTx_transferred
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:8509 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entrysignaturex_refsource_OVALx_transferred
- http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1230 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- http://support.nortel.com/go/main.jsp?cscat=BLTNDETAIL&id=871138 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- MS09-014 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MSx_transferred
- http://www.dhanjani.com/archives/2008/05/safari_carpet_bomb.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- APPLE-SA-2008-06-19 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_APPLEx_transferred
- http://aviv.raffon.net/2008/05/31/SafariPwnsInternetExplorer.aspx (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:5782 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entrysignaturex_refsource_OVALx_transferred
- apple-safari-windows-code-execution(42765) (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_XFx_transferred
- MS09-015 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MSx_transferred
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6108 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entrysignaturex_refsource_OVALx_transferred
- http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2009-133.htm (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- ADV-2008-1706 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_VUPENx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2008-2535 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2008-2540)Record last updated .