# CVE-2009-0537: Integer overflow in n/a

> An integer overflow in libc allows local attackers to crash applications like du or rm via deep directory trees, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Mar 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9fjq-qvpr-gcq2

## What is CVE-2009-0537?

CVE-2009-0537 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Openbsd Openbsd, published on 9 Mar 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Integer overflow in the fts_build function in fts.c in libc in (1) OpenBSD 4.4 and earlier and (2) Microsoft Interix 6.0 build 10.0.6030.0 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a deep directory tree, related to the fts_level structure member, as demonstrated by (a) du, (b) rm, (c) chmod, and (d) chgrp on OpenBSD; and (e) SearchIndexer.exe on Vista Enterprise.

Weakness: CWE-189

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-0537?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Microsoft Interix, Openbsd Openbsd.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-0537?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-0537 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2009-0537 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-0537 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Libc - 'libc:fts_*()' Local Denial of Service (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Openbsd Openbsd

- [CVE-2004-0210](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0210/): Microsoft Windows Privilege Escalation (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2002-0020](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0020/): Buffer overflow in telnet server in Windows 2000 and Interix 2.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via malformed protocol options. (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-0537 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-0537 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Openbsd Openbsd, published on 9 Mar 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-0537 exists.

Affected product: Openbsd Openbsd. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2009-0537/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0537/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-0537
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-0537
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-0537

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0537/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.