# CVE-2009-5064: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can gain privileges by using a Trojan horse executable with a modified loader that bypasses LD_TRACE_LOADED_OBJECTS checks in glibc.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Mar 2011
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2009-5064, GHSA-jx79-x2m5-439p

## What is CVE-2009-5064?

CVE-2009-5064 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Glibc, published on 30 Mar 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

ldd in the GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) 2.13 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse executable file linked with a modified loader that omits certain LD_TRACE_LOADED_OBJECTS checks.  NOTE: the GNU C Library vendor states "This is just nonsense. There are a gazillion other ways to introduce code if people are downloading arbitrary binaries and install them in appropriate directories or set LD_LIBRARY_PATH etc.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-5064?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gnu Glibc.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-5064?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2009-5064 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-5064 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Gnu Glibc

- [CVE-2026-5450](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-5450/): scanf %mc off-by-one heap buffer overflow (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-25139](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-25139/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-1999-0199](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0199/): Other in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-1010022](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1010022/): Security feature bypass in glibc (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2005-3590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3590/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-5064 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-5064 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Glibc, published on 30 Mar 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-5064 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Gnu Glibc. 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-2009-5064/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-5064/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-5064
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-5064
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-5064

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-5064/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.