Is CVE-2008-5103 being actively exploited?

CVE-2008-5103 is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2008-5103?

CVE-2008-5103 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 7.2 (HIGH).

CVE-2008-5103

HIGH · CVSS 7.2EPSS 0.5%EU EUVD

The (1) python-vm-builder and (2) ubuntu-vm-builder implementations in VMBuilder 0.9 in Ubuntu 8.10 omit the -e option when invoking chpasswd with a root:! argument, which configures the root account with a cleartext password of ! (exclamation point) and allows attackers to bypass intended login restrictions.

Key facts

CVSS score: 7.2 (v2.0)
Severity: HIGH
CVSS vector: AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Weakness (CWE): CWE-255
EPSS score: 0.5% (41th percentile)
In CISA KEV: No
In EU EUVD: Yes (EUVD-2008-5082)
Published: November 17, 2008
NVD last modified: June 16, 2026
Status: Modified

EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD)

This vulnerability is also tracked by ENISA as EUVD-2008-5082 in the EU Vulnerability Database. Last updated in EUVD on August 7, 2024.

View on the EU Vulnerability Database

Affected products

dcgrendel / vmbuilder
ubuntu / ubuntu linux
ubuntu / ubuntu linux
ubuntu / ubuntu linux
ubuntu / ubuntu linux

References

http://launchpadlibrarian.net/19619929/vm-builder_0.9-0ubuntu3.1.debdiff(Exploit)
http://osvdb.org/49996
http://secunia.com/advisories/32697(Patch, Vendor Advisory)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/32292(Patch)
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-670-1(Vendor Advisory)
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/vm-builder/+bug/296841
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/46603

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

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