Input validation error in GNU C Library (glibc) - CVE-2009-4881
Published: August 17, 2017 / Updated: June 3, 2025
Vulnerability identifier: #VU110124
CSH Severity: Medium
CVSS v4: 6.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2009-4881
CWE-ID: CWE-20
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to perform service disruption.
Integer overflow in the __vstrfmon_l function in stdlib/strfmon_l.c in the strfmon implementation in the GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) before 2.10.1 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted format string, as demonstrated by the %99999999999999999999n string, a related issue to CVE-2008-1391.
Affected software
GNU C Library (glibc)
Gentoo Linux
sys-libs/glibc
Gentoo Linux
sys-libs/glibc
How to mitigate CVE-2009-4881
Install update from vendor's website.
GNU C Library (glibc) - update to 2.10.1
sys-libs/glibc - update to 2.11.2-r3
sys-libs/glibc - update to 2.11.2-r3
External References
- http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-201011-01.xml
- http://sources.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=10600
- http://sourceware.org/git/?p=glibc.git;a=commit;h=153aa31b93be22e01b236375fb02a9f9b9a0195f
- http://www.debian.org/security/2010/dsa-2058
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2010:111
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/59241