Is CVE-2008-3863 actively exploited?

CVE-2008-3863 has no public evidence of in-the-wild exploitation as of 2026-04-23.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2008-3863?

CVE-2008-3863 has a CVSS score of 7.6 (UNKNOWN severity). Vector: AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C.

How do I patch CVE-2008-3863?

Patch guidance is available from gnu security advisories. CVEDatabase generates AI-assisted remediation guidance on demand for CVE-2008-3863.

Which products are affected by CVE-2008-3863?

2 products: gnu enscript, gnu enscript.

CVE-2008-3863 - remediation guidance & executive summary

Description

Stack-based buffer overflow in the read_special_escape function in src/psgen.c in GNU Enscript 1.6.1 and 1.6.4 beta, when the -e (aka special escapes processing) option is enabled, allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted ASCII file, related to the setfilename command.

CVSS Metrics

Vector: AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Access Vector: network
Access Cmplx: high
Auth: none
Confidentiality: complete
Integrity: complete
Availability: complete
Weaknesses: CWE-119 · Memory Buffer Errors

Metadata

Primary Vendor: GNU
Published: 10/23/2008
Last Modified: 4/23/2026
Source: NIST NVD
Note: Verify all details with official vendor sources before applying patches.

CVE-2008-3863

Description

CVSS Metrics

Metadata

Affected Products

Remediation Guidance

Executive Summary