# CVE-2009-3490: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Man-in-the-middle attackers can spoof SSL servers by exploiting improper null character handling in X.509 certificate Common Name fields.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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:** 30 Sep 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2009-3490, DSA-1904-1, GHSA-6p5c-44cm-r9m8, RHSA-2009:1549

## What is CVE-2009-3490?

CVE-2009-3490 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Sep 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

GNU Wget before 1.12 does not properly handle a '\0' character in a domain name in the Common Name field of an X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle remote attackers to spoof arbitrary SSL servers via a crafted certificate issued by a legitimate Certification Authority, a related issue to CVE-2009-2408.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-3490?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | All versions | 0:1.10.2-0.30E.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | All versions | 0:1.10.2-0.30E.1 |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::desktop | All versions | 0:1.10.2-0.30E.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::desktop | All versions | 0:1.10.2-0.30E.1 |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::es | All versions | 0:1.10.2-0.30E.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::es | All versions | 0:1.10.2-0.30E.1 |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::ws | All versions | 0:1.10.2-0.30E.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::ws | All versions | 0:1.10.2-0.30E.1 |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as | All versions | 0:1.10.2-1.el4_8.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as | All versions | 0:1.10.2-1.el4_8.1 |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop | All versions | 0:1.10.2-1.el4_8.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop | All versions | 0:1.10.2-1.el4_8.1 |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es | All versions | 0:1.10.2-1.el4_8.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es | All versions | 0:1.10.2-1.el4_8.1 |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws | All versions | 0:1.10.2-1.el4_8.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws | All versions | 0:1.10.2-1.el4_8.1 |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:1.11.4-2.el5_4.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:1.11.4-2.el5_4.1 |
| `wget` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:1.11.4-2.el5_4.1 |
| `wget-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:1.11.4-2.el5_4.1 |

Products: Gnu Wget.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-3490?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2009-3490 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-3490 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2019-5953](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5953/): Memory corruption in GNU Wget (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-4877](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-4877/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-38428](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38428/): Other in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-58469](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-58469/): GNU Wget 1.25.0 Heap Buffer Underread via Metalink URL Parsing (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2016-7098](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7098/): Race condition in n/a (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-3490 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-3490 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Sep 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-2009-3490 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2009-3490/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3490/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-3490
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-3490
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-3490

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3490/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.