# CVE-2008-6549: MoinMoin Denial of Service vulnerability via password_checker function

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via segmentation fault in MoinMoin due to thread-unsafe password checking.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Mar 2009
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wjjc-m3fc-fcm8, PYSEC-2009-12

## What is CVE-2008-6549?

CVE-2008-6549 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Mar 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The password_checker function in config/multiconfig.py in MoinMoin 1.6.1 uses the cracklib and python-crack features even though they are not thread-safe, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault and crash) via unknown vectors.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-6549?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including moin. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `moin` | PyPI | All versions | 1.6.1 |
| `moin` | PyPI | All versions | 1.6.1 |
| `moin` | PyPI | All versions | 1.6.1 |

Products: Moinmo Moinmoin.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-6549?

Upgrade moin to 1.6.1 or later.

## Is CVE-2008-6549 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-6549 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2020-15275](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15275/): malicious SVG attachment causing stored XSS vulnerability in MoinMoin (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2009-4762](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4762/): MoinMoin Improper Access Control vulnerability (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2010-0669](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0669/): MoinMoin improper sanitizes user profiles (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2010-0717](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0717/): MoinMoin has improper default configuration (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2010-0668](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0668/): MoinMoin has multiple vulnerabilities related to superuser list, xmlrpc and OpenID configuration (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-6549 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-6549 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Mar 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-6549 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- moin (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 1.6.1
- moin (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 1.6.1
- moin (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 1.6.1

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-6549/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-6549/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-6549
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-6549
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-6549

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-6549/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.