# CVE-2009-1490: Memory corruption in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash the Sendmail daemon or potentially execute arbitrary code by sending a long X- header.

- **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:** 5 May 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2009-1490, GHSA-qhrf-mg36-grcm

## What is CVE-2009-1490?

CVE-2009-1490 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 5 May 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Heap-based buffer overflow in Sendmail before 8.13.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long X- header, as demonstrated by an X-Testing header.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-1490?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Sendmail Sendmail.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-1490?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2009-1490 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-1490 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Sendmail 8.12.x - 'X-header' Remote Heap Buffer Overflow (PoC) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2007-2246](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-2246/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2006-0058](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0058/): Race condition in n/a (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2009-4565](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4565/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2002-2261](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-2261/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-1999-1592](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-1592/): Other in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-1490 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-1490 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 5 May 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-1490 exists.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2009-1490/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1490/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-1490
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-1490
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-1490

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1490/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.