Read the docs
TI-2009-04321 Aliases CVE-2009-4565GHSA-g4p5-56vp-vcg5

sendmail before 8.14.4 does not properly handle a '\0' character in a Common Name (CN)…

Priority LOW 37CWE-310Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
— Not recorded in CVSS 2.0
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
Partial · Partial · Partial
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 2.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

sendmail before 8.14.4 does not properly handle a '\0' character in a Common Name (CN) field of an X.509 certificate, which (1) allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof arbitrary SSL-based SMTP servers via a crafted server certificate issued by a legitimate Certification Authority, and (2) allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions via a crafted client certificate issued by a legitimate Certification Authority, a related issue to CVE-2009-2408.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.02395 84th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed Red Hat: 2 advisories

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
——all versions—No fix listedCNA
  • — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 62

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*up to 8.14.3VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*2.6VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:2.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*2.6.1VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*3.0VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:3.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*3.0.1VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*4.1VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:4.55:*:*:*:*:*:*:*4.55VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*5VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:5.59:*:*:*:*:*:*:*5.59VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:5.61:*:*:*:*:*:*:*5.61VulnerableSendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 8.14.3 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:2.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.1 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 3.0 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:3.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 3.0.1 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.1 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:4.55:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.55 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:5:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:5.59:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.59 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:5.61:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.61 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
Show 52 more CPE
CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:5.65:*:*:*:*:*:*:*5.65VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.6.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.6.7VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.7.6VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.7.7VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.7.8VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.7.9VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.7.10VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.8.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.8.8VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.9.0VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.9.1VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.9.2VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.9.3VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.10VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.10.0VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.10.1VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.10.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.10.2VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.11.0VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.11.1VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.11.2VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.11.3VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.11.4VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.11.5VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.11.6VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.11.7VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta10:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12 beta10VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta12:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12 beta12VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta16:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12 beta16VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta5:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12 beta5VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta7:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12 beta7VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.0VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.1VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.2VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.3VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.4VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.5VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.6VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.7VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.8VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.9VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.12.10VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.0VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.1VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.1.2VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.2VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.3VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.4VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.5VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.6VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.7VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.13.8VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.14.1VulnerableSendmail
cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.14.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*8.14.2VulnerableSendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:5.65:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.65 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.6.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.6.7 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.7.6 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.7.7 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.7.8 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.7.9 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.7.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.7.10 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.8.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.8.8 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.9.0 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.9.1 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.9.2 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.9.3 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.10 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.10.0 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.10.1 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.10.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.10.2 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.11.0 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.11.1 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.11.2 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.11.3 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.11.4 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.11.5 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.11.6 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.11.7 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta10:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12 beta10 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta12:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12 beta12 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta16:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12 beta16 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12 beta5 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12 beta7 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.0 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.1 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.2 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.3 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.4 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.5 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.6 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.7 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.8 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.9 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.12.10 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.0 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.1 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.1.2 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.2 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.3 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.4 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.5 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.6 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.7 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.13.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.13.8 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.14.1 Vulnerable ·Sendmail
  • cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.14.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.14.2 Vulnerable ·Sendmail

Remediation

Red Hat 2 advisories

  • RHSA-2011:0262 Released 2011-02-16 · Red Hat rating Low
    sendmail security and bug fix update
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 4 sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4, sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4.i386, sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4.ia64 +13
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop version 4 sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4, sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4.i386, sendmail-cf-8.13.1-6.el4 +5
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 4 sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4, sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4.i386, sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4.ia64 +9
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 4 sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4, sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4.i386, sendmail-8.13.1-6.el4.ia64 +9
  • RHSA-2010:0237 Released 2010-03-29 · Red Hat rating Low
    sendmail security and bug fix update
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) sendmail-8.13.8-8.el5, sendmail-8.13.8-8.el5.i386, sendmail-8.13.8-8.el5.ia64 +13
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client) sendmail-8.13.8-8.el5, sendmail-8.13.8-8.el5.i386, sendmail-cf-8.13.8-8.el5 +3
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Workstation (v. 5 client) sendmail-8.13.8-8.el5, sendmail-devel-8.13.8-8.el5, sendmail-devel-8.13.8-8.el5.i386

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server)Fixed RHSA-2010:0237
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 4Fixed RHSA-2011:0262
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client)Fixed RHSA-2010:0237
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Workstation (v. 5 client)Fixed RHSA-2010:0237
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop version 4Fixed RHSA-2011:0262
Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 4Fixed RHSA-2011:0262
Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 4Fixed RHSA-2011:0262

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2009-4565
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-g4p5-56vp-vcg5

References

  • TI-2002-01263 Buffer overflow in Sendmail 5.79 to 8.12.7 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
  • TI-2003-00642 The prescan function in Sendmail 8.12.9 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
  • TI-2003-00154 The prescan() function in the address parser (parseaddr.c) in Sendmail before 8.12.9 does… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
  • TI-2006-00053 Signal handler race condition in Sendmail 8.13.x before 8.13.6 allows remote attackers to… CVSS 2.0HIGH 7.6
  • TI-2003-00632 A "potential buffer overflow in ruleset parsing" for Sendmail 8.12.9, when using the… CVSS 2.0HIGH 7.5
  • TI-2006-04282 Use-after-free vulnerability in Sendmail before 8.13.8 allows remote attackers to cause a… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
See all 32 →

Sources