# CVE-2009-1808: Denial of service in n/a

> Local attackers can crash Windows XP systems by exploiting improper parameter handling in SystemParametersInfo calls.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 May 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-c4pm-4hhj-2343

## What is CVE-2009-1808?

CVE-2009-1808 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Xp, published on 28 May 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Microsoft Windows XP SP3 allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) by making an SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER SystemParametersInfo call with an improperly terminated pvParam argument, followed by an SPI_GETDESKWALLPAPER SystemParametersInfo call.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-1808?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Microsoft Windows Xp.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-1808?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-1808 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2009-1808 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-1808 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Microsoft Windows XP/2000/2003 - Desktop Wall Paper System Parameter Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Xp

- [CVE-2012-1852](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1852/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2012-1853](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1853/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-0119](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0119/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-1946](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-1946/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2005-3595](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3595/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-1808 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-1808 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Xp, published on 28 May 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-2009-1808 exists.

Affected product: Microsoft Windows Xp. 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-2009-1808/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1808/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-1808
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-1808
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-1808

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1808/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.