Is CVE-2008-3431 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2008-3431 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added on March 3, 2022.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2008-3431?

CVE-2008-3431 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH).

CVE-2008-3431

HIGH · CVSS 8.8CISA KEV: actively exploitedEPSS 6.9%EU EUVD: exploited

The VBoxDrvNtDeviceControl function in VBoxDrv.sys in Sun xVM VirtualBox before 1.6.4 uses the METHOD_NEITHER communication method for IOCTLs and does not properly validate a buffer associated with the Irp object, which allows local users to gain privileges by opening the \\.\VBoxDrv device and calling DeviceIoControl to send a crafted kernel address.

Key facts

CVSS score: 8.8 (v3.1)
Severity: HIGH
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS score: 6.9% (94th percentile)
In CISA KEV: Yes, added March 3, 2022
In EU EUVD: Yes (EUVD-2008-3417)
Published: August 5, 2008
NVD last modified: June 16, 2026
Status: Analyzed

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Oracle VirtualBox Insufficient Input Validation Vulnerability

Added to the KEV catalog on March 3, 2022; federal remediation due March 24, 2022.

EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD)

This vulnerability is also tracked by ENISA as EUVD-2008-3417 in the EU Vulnerability Database. ENISA flags it as known exploited. Last updated in EUVD on October 22, 2025.

View on the EU Vulnerability Database

Affected products

oracle / virtualbox

References

http://secunia.com/advisories/31361(Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/4107(Broken Link)
http://securitytracker.com/id?1020625(Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-66-240095-1(Broken Link)
http://virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog(Product)
http://www.coresecurity.com/content/virtualbox-privilege-escalation-vulnerability(Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495095/100/0/threaded(Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30481(Broken Link, Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/2293(Broken Link)
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44202(Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2008-3431(US Government Resource)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/6218(Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)

Last updated September 17, 2026 · Source: NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS

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