CVE-2008-4128
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the HTTP Administration component in Cisco IOS 12.4 on the 871 Integrated Services Router allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via (1) a certain "show privilege" command to the /level/15/exec/- URI, and (2) a certain "alias exec" command to the /level/15/exec/-/configure/http URI. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
do firstApply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.
Can a WAF block it? Partly. The attack uses HTTP requests to specific URIs with command parameters that normal users do not typically access or use, allowing a web application firewall to detect and block these unusual command execution attempts. A WAF rule can match specific URI paths with 'show privilege' or 'alias exec' commands in HTTP requests. No tracked WAF vendor has published a rule for this CVE yet, so you would write it yourself.
What a custom rule would match: specific URI paths with 'show privilege' or 'alias exec' commands in HTTP requests
Also consider: patch · custom WAF rule · SameSite cookies · CSRF tokens
Based on an AI reading of the CVE description, and no vendor rule found yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Is CVE-2008-4128 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2008-4128 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2008-4128?
CVE-2008-4128 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.1. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2008-4128?
Not known from our data. No patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2008-4128, which is not the same as no patch existing — a fix may have shipped without a tagged reference, or after this record was written. The vendor advisory is the only authority on whether a fix exists, and mitigations may be available regardless.
What does CVE-2008-4128 affect?
CVE-2008-4128 affects cisco:ios. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
public exploits
Public exploit code: 1 on Exploit-DB
- Cisco Router - HTTP Administration Cross-Site Request Forgery / Command Execution (1) · remote · 17 Sept 2008 · verified
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
cisa ssvc
- exploitation
- active
- automatable
- no
- technical impact
- total
Assessed by CISA 13 Jul 2026 (SSVC 2.0.3).
timeline
- 17 Sept 2008First public exploit or proof of concept
- 18 Sept 2008Published · 2 days later
- 13 Jul 2026Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild) · 6,506 days (about 18 years) later
- 13 Jul 2026CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active · same day later
- 16 Jul 2026CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies) · 3 days later
- 24 Sept 2026CVE record last updated · 70 days (about 2 months) later
- 2 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 40 days later
- Advisorymedia.defense.gov /2026/Jul/09/2003959498/-1/-1/1/CSA_IMPROVE_ROUTER_HYGIENE.PDF
- Exploitexploit-db.com /exploits/6476
- Exploitexploit-db.com /exploits/6477
- Mitigationcisco.com /c/en/us/obsolete/ios-nx-os-software/cisco-ios-software-releases-12-4-mainline.h
- Linkexchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com /vulnerabilities/45226
- Linkjbrownsec.blogspot.com /2008/09/cisco-0day-released.html
- Linksecurityfocus.com /bid/31218
- Linkcisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2008-4128
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Exploit-DB: published exploits
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.