# CVE-2009-2844: Null dereference in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash the Linux kernel via crafted wireless beacon frames, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 18 Aug 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-h6cm-xhvp-x8jm

## What is CVE-2009-2844?

CVE-2009-2844 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Aug 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

cfg80211 in net/wireless/scan.c in the Linux kernel 2.6.30-rc1 and other versions before 2.6.31-rc6 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a sequence of beacon frames in which one frame omits an SSID Information Element (IE) and the subsequent frame contains an SSID IE, which triggers a NULL pointer dereference in the cmp_ies function.  NOTE: a potential weakness in the is_mesh function was also addressed, but the relevant condition did not exist in the code, so it is not a vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-399

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-2844?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Linux Kernel, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-2844?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-2844 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2009-2844 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-2844 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2009-1389](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1389/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2009-2767](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2767/): Null dereference in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2009-2406](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2406/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 6.9)
- [CVE-2010-0309](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0309/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2009-2847](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2847/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 4.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-2844 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-2844 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Aug 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-2844 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2009-2844/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2844/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-2844
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-2844
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-2844

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2844/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.