# CVE-2009-20007: Talkative IRC v0.4.4.16 Response Buffer Overflow

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code on Talkative IRC clients by sending specially crafted long response strings that trigger a stack-based buffer overflow.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 15 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hv84-7vcq-ccgm

## What is CVE-2009-20007?

CVE-2009-20007 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Talkative IRC, published on 16 Sep 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Talkative IRC v0.4.4.16 is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow when processing specially crafted response strings sent to a connected client. An attacker can exploit this flaw by sending an overly long message that overflows a fixed-length buffer, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the vulnerable process. This vulnerability is exploitable remotely and does not require authentication.

Weakness: CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-20007?


## How do I fix CVE-2009-20007?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-20007 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2009-20007 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-20007 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Talkative IRC v0.4.4.16 Response Buffer Overflow (metasploit)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-20007 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-20007 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Talkative IRC, published on 16 Sep 2025. 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-2009-20007 exists.

Affected product: Talkative IRC. 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-2009-20007/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-20007/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-20007
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-20007
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-20007

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-20007/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.