CVE-2009-4418

Status: ModifiedMedium (5)—
Severity5Medium · CVSS 2.0
Exploitation probability0.97 %higher than 62% of CVEs
Active exploitationNonot in the CISA catalog
Public exploitNot knownno public code found

The unserialize function in PHP 5.3.0 and earlier allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (resource consumption) via a deeply nested serialized variable, as demonstrated by a string beginning with a:1: followed by many {a:1: sequences.

CVSS

Base score
5
Version
2.0
Vector
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Exploitation probability (EPSS)

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
0.97 %
Percentile among all scored CVEs
62
Score date
10/23/2026

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).

Affected technologies (1)

CWEs

References

Show 4 references

Raw JSON (NVD)

Show
{
  "id": "CVE-2009-4418",
  "cveTags": [],
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        "type": "Primary",
        "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
        "cvssData": {
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          "baseScore": 5,
          "accessVector": "NETWORK",
          "vectorString": "AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P",
          "authentication": "NONE",
          "integrityImpact": "NONE",
          "accessComplexity": "LOW",
          "availabilityImpact": "PARTIAL",
          "confidentialityImpact": "NONE"
        },
        "acInsufInfo": false,
        "impactScore": 2.9,
        "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
        "obtainAllPrivilege": false,
        "exploitabilityScore": 10,
        "obtainUserPrivilege": false,
        "obtainOtherPrivilege": false,
        "userInteractionRequired": false
      }
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  },
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "cve@mitre.org",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "n/a",
          "product": "n/a",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "n/a"
            }
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        }
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    }
  ],
  "published": "2009-12-24T17:30:00.233",
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "http://www.suspekt.org/2009/11/28/shocking-news-in-php-exploitation/",
      "source": "cve@mitre.org"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.suspekt.org/downloads/POC2009-ShockingNewsInPHPExploitation.pdf",
      "source": "cve@mitre.org"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.suspekt.org/2009/11/28/shocking-news-in-php-exploitation/",
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.suspekt.org/downloads/POC2009-ShockingNewsInPHPExploitation.pdf",
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
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      "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
      "description": [
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          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-189"
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      "lang": "en",
      "value": "The unserialize function in PHP 5.3.0 and earlier allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (resource consumption) via a deeply nested serialized variable, as demonstrated by a string beginning with a:1: followed by many {a:1: sequences."
    },
    {
      "lang": "es",
      "value": "La función deserializada (unserialize) en PHP 5.3.0 y anteriores permite a atacantes dependientes del contexto causar una denegación de servicio (consumo de recursos) a través una variables anidadas profundamente, como queda demostrada con una cadena inicializada con a:1: seguida de una larga secuencia {a:1: ."
    }
  ],
  "lastModified": "2026-06-16T23:13:37.857",
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    {
      "comment": "Red Hat does not consider this to be a security flaw. For further details, see https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2009-4418",
      "lastModified": "2010-01-04T00:00:00",
      "organization": "Red Hat"
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  "sourceIdentifier": "cve@mitre.org"
}