# CVE-2009-2495: Information disclosure in n/a

> Remote attackers can obtain sensitive information via crafted HTML documents exploiting a buffer over-read in the Microsoft Active Template Library.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Jul 2009
- **Updated:** 27 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w98q-7wf3-vg43

## What is CVE-2009-2495?

CVE-2009-2495 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Studio, published on 29 Jul 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The Active Template Library (ATL) in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 SP1, Visual Studio 2005 SP1 and 2008 Gold and SP1, and Visual C++ 2005 SP1 and 2008 Gold and SP1 does not properly enforce string termination, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a crafted HTML document with an ATL (1) component or (2) control that triggers a buffer over-read, related to ATL headers and buffer allocation, aka "ATL Null String Vulnerability."

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor), CWE-126 (Buffer Over-read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-2495?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Microsoft Visual C\+\+, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Visual Studio .Net.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-2495?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-2495 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2009-2495 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-2495 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Visual Studio

- [CVE-2009-0901](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0901/): Code injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2009-2493](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2493/): Code injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2007-0842](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-0842/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-2495 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-2495 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Studio, published on 29 Jul 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-2495 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft Visual Studio. 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-2009-2495/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2495/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-2495
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-2495
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-2495

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2495/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.