# CVE-2009-4111: Command injection in n/a

> Remote attackers can read and write arbitrary files via argument injection in the PEAR Mail package's sendmail script.

- **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:** 28 Nov 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2009-4111, GHSA-w5wx-rhpx-rwf6

## What is CVE-2009-4111?

CVE-2009-4111 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 28 Nov 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Argument injection vulnerability in Mail/sendmail.php in the Mail package 1.1.14, 1.2.0b2, and possibly other versions for PEAR allows remote attackers to read and write arbitrary files via a crafted $recipients parameter, and possibly other parameters, a different vulnerability than CVE-2009-4023.

Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-4111?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pear Mail.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-4111?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2009-4111 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-4111 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-4111 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-4111 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 28 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-2009-4111 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-2009-4111/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4111/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-4111
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4111
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-4111

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4111/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.