← Vulnerability feed

Vulnerability record · CVE-2008-3533 · published 18 August 2008

CVE-2008-3533: Gnome yelp vulnerability

Gnome · Yelp

Format string vulnerability in the window_error function in yelp-window.c in yelp in Gnome after 2.19.90 and before 2.24 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers in an invalid URI on the command line, as demonstrated by use of yelp within (1) man or (2) ghelp URI handlers in Firefox, Evolution, and unspecified other programs.

10.0 CVSS 2.0 High EPSS 19% · top 2.7% CWE-134 · CWE-134
10.0CVSS 2.0 base score
19%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
2Affected product versions listed by NVD
28References, 6 tagged exploit
16 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

Format string vulnerability in the window_error function in yelp-window.c in yelp in Gnome after 2.19.90 and before 2.24 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers in an invalid URI on the command line, as demonstrated by use of yelp within (1) man or (2) ghelp URI handlers in Firefox, Evolution, and unspecified other programs.

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Affected products

2 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
http://bugzilla.gnome.org/attachment.cgi?id=115890 ExploitIssue Tracking
http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=546364 ExploitIssue TrackingPatch
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2008-11/msg00000.html Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/31465 Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/31620 Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/31834 Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/32629 Vendor Advisory
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2008:175 Product
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30690 Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-638-1 Third Party Advisory
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/2393 Broken Link
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/yelp/+bug/254860 ExploitPatch
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44449 VDB Entry
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-September/msg00222.html Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://bugzilla.gnome.org/attachment.cgi?id=115890 ExploitIssue Tracking
http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=546364 ExploitIssue TrackingPatch
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2008-11/msg00000.html Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/31465 Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/31620 Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/31834 Vendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/32629 Vendor Advisory
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2008:175 Product
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30690 Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-638-1 Third Party Advisory
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/2393 Broken Link
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/yelp/+bug/254860 ExploitPatch
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44449 VDB Entry
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-September/msg00222.html Mailing ListThird Party Advisory

Track CVE-2008-3533 inside VULONE

Watch it alongside the ransomware crews, C2 infrastructure and forum chatter that reference it, query it through the API and pull it into your SIEM over TAXII.

Start free Open in platform

Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

7.4CVE-2025-3155Gnome yelp open redirect vulnerabilityA flaw was found in Yelp. The Gnome user help application allows the help document to execute arbitrary scripts. This vulnerability allows malicious …EPSS 14%6.5CVE-2026-13601Redhat enterprise linux vulnerabilityA flaw was found in Yelp due to an overly permissive Content Security Policy (CSP) implementation provided by yelp-xsl. A malicious Flatpak applicati…EPSS 0.18%9.8CVE-2024-23113Fortinet FortiOS and related products format string remote code executionA use of externally-controlled format string (CWE-134) in Fortinet FortiOS, FortiProxy, FortiPAM and FortiSwitchManager lets an attacker execute unau…KEVEPSS 62%analysed5.5CVE-2021-25489Samsung Android modem driver format string bug causes kernel panicSamsung Android devices contain a missing input validation flaw in the modem interface driver, resulting in a format string bug. It is listed in CISA…KEVEPSS 0.53%analysed8.0CVE-2018-0175Cisco IOS, IOS XE and IOS XR LLDP format string flawA format string vulnerability exists in the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) subsystem of Cisco IOS, IOS XE and IOS XR Software. An unauthenticat…KEVEPSS 3.5%analysed8.1CVE-2019-1579PAN-OS GlobalProtect pre-auth remote code executionPAN-OS versions 7.1.18, 8.0.11-h1 and 8.1.2 and earlier contain a remote code execution flaw (CWE-134, format string) that is reachable when the Glob…KEVEPSS 46%analysed8.8CVE-2020-3118Cisco IOS XR CDP packet parsing flaw allows adjacent code executionCisco IOS XR's Cisco Discovery Protocol implementation fails to properly validate string input in certain CDP message fields, allowing a stack overfl…KEVEPSS 12%analysed

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2008-3533), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.