# CVE-2009-4017: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause denial of service via resource exhaustion by sending multiple multipart/form-data POST requests to PHP.

- **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:** 24 Nov 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-79rp-c2fh-g5j7

## What is CVE-2009-4017?

CVE-2009-4017 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 24 Nov 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

PHP before 5.2.12 and 5.3.x before 5.3.1 does not restrict the number of temporary files created when handling a multipart/form-data POST request, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (resource exhaustion), and makes it easier for remote attackers to exploit local file inclusion vulnerabilities, via multiple requests, related to lack of support for the max_file_uploads directive.

Weakness: CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-4017?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Apple Mac Os X, Debian Debian Linux, Php Php.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-4017?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2009-4017 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-4017 exists.

Public exploit code:

- PHP < 5.3.1 - 'MultiPart/form-data' Denial of Service (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Mac Os X

- [CVE-2014-7169](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-7169/): GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-6271](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-6271/): GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2012-1823](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1823/): PHP-CGI Query String Parameter (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-30713](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-30713/): Apple macOS Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-8526](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-8526/): Apple macOS Use-After-Free (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-4017 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-4017 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 24 Nov 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-4017 exists.

Affected product: Apple Mac Os X. 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-2009-4017/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4017/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-4017
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4017
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-4017

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4017/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.