CVE-2008-4255

What it is

Heap-based buffer overflow in mscomct2.ocx (aka Windows Common ActiveX control or Microsoft Animation ActiveX control) in Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, Visual Studio .NET 2002 SP1 and 2003 SP1, Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1 and 9.0 SP1 and SP2, and Office Project 2003 SP3 and 2007 Gold and SP1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an AVI file with a crafted stream length, which triggers an "allocation error" and memory corruption, aka "Windows Common AVI Parsing Overflow Vulnerability."

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.

Exploit odds

53.7% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS). Higher than most.

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2008-09-25 00:00 UTC ReservedThe CVE id was reserved by its CNA
2. 2008-12-10 14:00 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
3. 2026-06-16 22:57 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 53.7% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 9.3 HIGH (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.
• It meets the bar for Drop everything: critical, and exploited or very likely to be.

Details

Published

2008-12-10 14:00 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-16 22:57 UTC

Exploit probability

53.7% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-119 · Buffer errors

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Microsoft Office Frontpage 2002
• Microsoft Project 2003
• Microsoft Project 2007
• Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0
• Microsoft Visual Foxpro 8.0
• Microsoft Visual Foxpro 9.0
• Microsoft Visual Studio .net 2002
• Microsoft Visual Studio .net 2003

Attack profile CVSS 2.0 · 9.3

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Medium

Authentication

None

Confidentiality

Complete

Integrity

Complete

Availability

Complete

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2008-4255.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2008-4255. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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