Cyber Threat Intelligence
CTI Academy Sponsor CTI Academy
CRITICAL · CVSS 9.8 CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

CVE-2008-4250

Microsoft Windows Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

Microsoft Windows

The Server service in Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2 and SP3, Server 2003 SP1 and SP2, Vista Gold and SP1, Server 2008, and 7 Pre-Beta allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted RPC request that triggers the overflow during path canonicalization, as exploited in the wild by Gimmiv.A in October 2008, aka "Server Service Vulnerability."

CVSS
9.8
CRITICAL
EPSS
98.8%
30-day exploitation
Ransomware groups
0
recorded exploiting
Published
23 Oct 2008
CWE-94, CWE-119

Exploitation status

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Listed by CISA on 20 May 2026. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 3 June 2026.

EPSS — exploitation probability

FIRST puts the probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days at 98.8%, which is higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities. EPSS is a forecast of activity, not a measure of severity, and it is rescored daily.

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2008-4250 being exploited by ransomware groups?

No ransomware group in this database is currently recorded as exploiting CVE-2008-4250.

What does CVE-2008-4250 affect?

CVE-2008-4250 affects Microsoft Windows. The Server service in Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2 and SP3, Server 2003 SP1 and SP2, Vista Gold and SP1, Server 2008, and 7 Pre-Beta allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted RPC request that triggers the overflow during path canonicalization, as exploited in the wild by Gimmiv.A in October 2008, aka "Server Service Vulnerability."

How severe is CVE-2008-4250?

CVE-2008-4250 is rated CRITICAL with a CVSS base score of 9.8. EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 98.8%, higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities. It is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, with a federal remediation deadline of 3 June 2026.

How should organisations respond to CVE-2008-4250?

Apply the vendor patch for Microsoft Windows as the first priority, and treat any internet-facing instance as the most urgent. Because this vulnerability is associated with ransomware activity, also review whether the affected systems were reachable before patching, rather than assuming that patching alone closes the incident.