# CVE-2009-3553: Use after free in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash the CUPS print server daemon by disconnecting during large print job listings, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 Nov 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2009-3553, GHSA-qvh7-j2x6-25x5

## What is CVE-2009-3553?

CVE-2009-3553 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Apple Cups, published on 20 Nov 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Use-after-free vulnerability in the abstract file-descriptor handling interface in the cupsdDoSelect function in scheduler/select.c in the scheduler in cupsd in CUPS 1.3.7 and 1.3.10 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash or hang) via a client disconnection during listing of a large number of print jobs, related to improperly maintaining a reference count.  NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-3553?

It affects 7 products.


Products: Apple Cups, Apple Mac Os X, Apple Mac Os X Server, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Redhat Enterprise Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-3553?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2009-3553 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-3553 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Cups

- [CVE-2008-5184](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5184/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-3641](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3641/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-0053](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-0053/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2012-6094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-6094/): Missing authorization in cups (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2010-2941](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2941/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-3553 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-3553 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Apple Cups, published on 20 Nov 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-2009-3553 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Cups. 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-2009-3553/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3553/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-3553
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-3553
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-3553

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3553/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.