An issue was discovered in OpenVMS through V8.4-2L2 on Alpha and through V8.4-2L1 on IA64, and VAX/VMS 4.0 and later.
An issue was discovered in OpenVMS through V8.4-2L2 on Alpha and through V8.4-2L1 on IA64, and VAX/VMS 4.0 and later. A malformed DCL command table may result in a buffer overflow allowing a local privilege escalation when a non-privileged account enters a crafted command line. This bug is exploitable on VAX and Alpha and may cause a process crash on IA64. Software was affected regardless of whether it was directly shipped by VMS Software, Inc. (VSI), HPE, HP, Compaq, or Digital Equipment Corporation.
- Published
- Feb 7, 2018
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.6% · 48th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-119
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Report tools
Action score
31
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.6%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| hp | openvms | cpe:2.3:o:hp:openvms |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- hp openvmsup to 8.4-2l1 inclusive
- hp openvms4.0 and later
Same product
hp: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2008-5120Stack-based buffer overflow in the Process Software MultiNet finger service (aka FINGERD) for HP OpenVMS 8.3 allows remote attackers to exec43Plan
- CVE-2007-0139Unspecified vulnerability in the DECnet-Plus 7.3-2 feature in DECnet/OSI 7.3-2 for OpenVMS ALPHA, and the DECnet-Plus 7.3 feature in DECnet/31Monitor
- CVE-2008-4052Stack-based buffer overflow in SMGSHR.EXE in OpenVMS for Integrity Servers 8.2-1, 8.3, and 8.3-1H1 and OpenVMS ALPHA 7.3-2, 8.2, and 8.3 all28Monitor
- CVE-2008-3947DCL (aka the CLI) in OpenVMS Alpha 8.3 allows local users to gain privileges via a long command line.28Monitor
- CVE-2012-2010The ACMELOGIN implementation in HP OpenVMS 8.3 and 8.4 on the Alpha platform, and 8.3, 8.3-1H1, and 8.4 on the Itanium platform, when the SY27Monitor
- CVE-2010-1973Unspecified vulnerability in the Auditing subsystem in HP OpenVMS 8.3, 8.2, 7.3-2, and earlier on the ALPHA platform, and 8.3-1H1, 8.3, 8.2-27Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-119 · Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory BufferCVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Buffer Overflow via Environment VariablesCAPEC-10likelihood: High · High
- Overflow BuffersCAPEC-100likelihood: High · Very High
- Buffer ManipulationCAPEC-123likelihood: High · Very High
- Client-side Injection-induced Buffer OverflowCAPEC-14likelihood: Medium · High
- Filter Failure through Buffer OverflowCAPEC-24likelihood: High · High
- MIME ConversionCAPEC-42likelihood: High · High
- Overflow Binary Resource FileCAPEC-44likelihood: High · Very High
- Buffer Overflow via Symbolic LinksCAPEC-45likelihood: High · High
ATT&CK techniques
—
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
- www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/06/openvms_vulnerability/
- www.openvms.org/node/121
- groups.google.com/forum/#%21topic/comp.os.vms/BYIUQ0lJ-s0
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.