CVE-2009-1903

The PDF XSS protection feature in ModSecurity before 2.5.8 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (Apache httpd crash) via a request for a PDF file that does not use the GET method.

Published: 2009-06-03 Last update: 2026-04-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2009-1903 is rated Moderate Risk (46/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.92%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2009-1903

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-30 1.69% 1.92% +0.23%
2 2025-03-29 1.92% 1.69% -0.23%
3 2025-03-17 — 1.92% —

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2009-1903

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2009-1903

OS Trackers for CVE-2009-1903

vendor priority summary link
gentoo normal CVE-2009-1903: 1 GLSA(s) (200907-02), 1 atom(s) (www-apache/mod_security); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2009-1903
ubuntu medium CVE-2009-1903 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libapache-mod-security), 8 status rows across 8 suites (dapper, hardy, intrepid, jaunty, karmic, lucid, maverick, upstream): not-affected 4, DNE 2, ignored 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2009-1903

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2009-1903

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
trustwave modsecurity < 2.5.8 cpe:2.3:a:trustwave:modsecurity:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 9 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 10 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2009-1903

URL Tags
http://secunia.com/advisories/34256 Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/34311 Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/35687 Third Party Advisory
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200907-02.xml Third Party Advisory
http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=667538 Broken Link
http://www.osvdb.org/52552 Broken Link
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34096 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0703 Third Party Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/49211 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-March/msg00487.html Third Party Advisory
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-March/msg00529.html Third Party Advisory
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