CVE-2009-0537
Integer overflow in the fts_build function in fts.c in libc in (1) OpenBSD 4.4 and earlier and (2) Microsoft Interix 6.0 build 10.0.6030.0…
- 4.9MediumCVSS base score
- 3.6%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 10% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- 1Public exploitsMetasploit, Nuclei and Exploit-DB
Description
Integer overflow in the fts_build function in fts.c in libc in (1) OpenBSD 4.4 and earlier and (2) Microsoft Interix 6.0 build 10.0.6030.0 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a deep directory tree, related to the fts_level structure member, as demonstrated by (a) du, (b) rm, (c) chmod, and (d) chgrp on OpenBSD; and (e) SearchIndexer.exe on Vista Enterprise.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. The public collections list an Exploit-DB entry for it. A reference of the record is tagged as an exploit.
Show the exploits2
Exploit-DB1 entry
- Libc - 'libc:fts_*()' Local Denial of Service (Exploit-DB entry) (opens in a new tab)
EDB-ID 8163dos, bsdpublished 5 Mar 2009Verified
References tagged exploit1 reference
- 8163 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DBx_transferred
Modules, templates and exploits as listed by the Metasploit Framework (BSD-3-Clause), ProjectDiscovery's Nuclei templates (MIT) and the Exploit Database (GPLv2), read once a day. Where the data comes from
Timeline
ID reserved
By mitre
- 25 days later
· 25 days later
Published
- 15 years later
· 15 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 2.0 | Medium4.9 | AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 3.6% · top 10% of all CVEs (11 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 4.9.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References
References7
- 8163 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DBx_transferred
- 1021818 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKx_transferred
- 20090304 libc:fts_*():multiple vendors, Denial-of-service (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SREASONRESx_transferred
- http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/src/lib/libc/gen/fts.c.diff?r1=1.41%3Br2=1.42%3Bf=h (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- 34008 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
- http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/src/lib/libc/gen/fts.c (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- 20090305 libc:fts_*():multiple vendors, Denial-of-service (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2009-0541 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2009-0537)Record last updated .