CVE-2009-4488

Exp

Varnish 2.0.6 writes data to a log file without sanitizing non-printable characters, which might allow remote attackers to modify a window's title, or possibly execute arbitrary commands or overwrite files, via an HTTP request containing an escape sequence for a terminal emulator. NOTE: the vendor disputes the significance of this report, stating that "This is not a security problem in Varnish or any other piece of software which writes a logfile. The real problem is the mistaken belief that you can cat(1) a random logfile to your terminal safely.

Published: 2010-01-13 Last update: 2026-04-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2009-4488 is rated High Exploit Risk (83.5/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.92%). 3 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2009-4488

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
33498 exploit_db edb 2010-01-11 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2009-4488

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 2026-05-22 1.84% 1.92% +0.08%
2 2026-04-27 2.64% 1.84% -0.79%
3 2025-09-15 — 2.64% —

Full EPSS history (14 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2009-4488

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N 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:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
 10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2009-4488

OS Trackers for CVE-2009-4488

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2009-4488 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (varnish), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2009-4488
ubuntu negligible CVE-2009-4488 negligible priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (varnish), 21 status rows across 21 suites (dapper, hardy, intrepid, jaunty, karmic, lucid, maverick, natty, oneiric, precise, quantal, raring, saucy, trusty, upstream, utopic, vivid, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): ignored 19, DNE 1, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2009-4488

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2009-4488

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
varnish.projects.linpro varnish 2.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:varnish.projects.linpro:varnish:2.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2009-4488

cvelogic Threat Intelligence