CVE-2009-3563

ntp_request.c in ntpd in NTP before 4.2.4p8, and 4.2.5, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU and bandwidth consumption) by using MODE_PRIVATE to send a spoofed (1) request or (2) response packet that triggers a continuous exchange of MODE_PRIVATE error responses between two NTP daemons.

Published: 2009-12-09 Last update: 2026-04-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2009-3563 is rated Moderate Risk (61.8/100): CVSS Medium severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 81.11%, 99th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +1.48% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize 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-2009-3563

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 2026-05-01 79.63% 81.11% +1.48%
2 2026-03-28 79.91% 79.63% -0.28%
3 2026-03-21 79.91%

Full EPSS history (31 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2009-3563

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.4 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
10.0 4.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2009-3563

OS Trackers for CVE-2009-3563

vendor priority summary link
debian medium CVE-2009-3563 medium priority: Debian including 1 source packages (ntp), 1 status rows across 1 suites (bullseye): resolved 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2009-3563
gentoo normal CVE-2009-3563: 1 GLSA(s) (201001-01), 1 atom(s) (net-misc/ntp); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2009-3563
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2009-3563
ubuntu medium CVE-2009-3563 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (ntp), 6 status rows across 6 suites (dapper, hardy, intrepid, jaunty, karmic, upstream): released 6. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2009-3563

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2009-3563

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
ntp ntp <= 4.2.2p4 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.72 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.72:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.73 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.73:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.90 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.90:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.91 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.91:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.92 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.92:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.93 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.93:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.94 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.94:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.95 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.95:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.96 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.96:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.97 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.97:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.98 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.98:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.0.99 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.0.99:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.1.2 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.2.2 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.2.2p1 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.2.2p1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.2.2p2 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.2.2p2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.2.2p3 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.2.2p3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ntp ntp 4.2.5 cpe:2.3:a:ntp:ntp:4.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2009-3563

URL Tags
ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/security/advisories/NetBSD-SA2010-005.txt.asc
http://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/xntpd_advisory.asc
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=560074
http://kb.juniper.net/InfoCenter/index?page=content&id=JSA10673
http://kb.juniper.net/InfoCenter/index?page=content&id=JSA10691
http://lists.vmware.com/pipermail/security-announce/2010/000082.html
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=130168580504508&w=2
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=136482797910018&w=2
http://secunia.com/advisories/37629
http://secunia.com/advisories/37922
http://secunia.com/advisories/38764
http://secunia.com/advisories/38794
http://secunia.com/advisories/38832
http://secunia.com/advisories/38834
http://secunia.com/advisories/39593
http://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2009-3563
http://securitytracker.com/id?1023298
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-77-1021781.1-1
http://support.avaya.com/css/P8/documents/100071808
http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Main/SecurityNotice#DoS_attack_from_certain_NTP_mode Patch
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IZ68659
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IZ71047
http://www.debian.org/security/2009/dsa-1948 Patch
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/568372 Patch US Government Resource
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/MAPG-7X7V6J
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/MAPG-7X7VD7
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/37255 Patch
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/0510
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/0528
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/0993
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=531213
https://lists.ntp.org/pipermail/announce/2009-December/000086.html
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A11225
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A12141
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A19376
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A7076
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2009-1648.html
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2009-1651.html
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2010-0095.html
https://support.ntp.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=1331
https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/417980
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-December/msg00763.html
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-December/msg00809.html
cvelogic Threat Intelligence