# CVE-2009-2625: Denial of service in Apache Xerces2 > Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via infinite loop in Apache Xerces2 Java XML parser using malformed XML input. - **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:** 6 Aug 2009 - **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2026-OW18988, DEBIAN-CVE-2009-2625, DSA-1984-1, GHSA-334p-wv2m-w3vp, RHSA-2009:1615, RHSA-2011:0858, RHSA-2012:1537 ## What is CVE-2009-2625? CVE-2009-2625 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 6 Aug 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description XMLScanner.java in Apache Xerces2 Java, as used in Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) in JDK and JRE 6 before Update 15 and JDK and JRE 5.0 before Update 20, and in other products, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop and application hang) via malformed XML input, as demonstrated by the Codenomicon XML fuzzing framework. ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-2625? 2 open source packages ship an affected version, including xerces:xercesImpl. It affects 9 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `xerces:xercesImpl` | Maven | All versions | 2.10.0 | | `xerces:xercesImpl` | Maven | All versions | 2.10.0 | | `xerces-j2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-scripts` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-demo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-apis` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-impl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-other` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-xni` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client_workstation | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-demo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-apis` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-impl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-other` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-xni` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2-scripts` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-7jpp.2.el5_4.2 | | `xerces-j2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-demo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-apis` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-impl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-other` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-xni` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-scripts` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-demo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-apis` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-impl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-other` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-xni` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-scripts` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-demo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | | `xerces-j2-javadoc-apis` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.7.1-12.6.el6_0 | Products: Apache Xerces2 Java, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Opensuse Opensuse, Oracle Jdk, Oracle Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management, Oracle Primavera Web Services, Suse Linux Enterprise Server. ## How do I fix CVE-2009-2625? Upgrade xerces:xercesImpl to 2.10.0 or later. ## Is CVE-2009-2625 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-2625 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux - [CVE-2012-0881](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0881/): Denial of service in Apache Xerces2 (high 7.5) - [CVE-2013-4002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4002/): Missing XML Validation in Apache Xerces2 (high 7.1) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2009-2625 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2009-2625 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 6 Aug 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-2625 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected packages and fixed versions: - xerces:xercesImpl (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 2.10.0 - xerces:xercesImpl (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 2.10.0 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-2009-2625/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2625/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-2625 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-2625 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-2625 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2625/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.