dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2009-0009

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-02-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Unspecified vulnerability in the Pixlet codec in Apple Mac OS X 10.4.11 and 10.5.6 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application termination) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted movie file that triggers memory corruption.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in the Pixlet codec in Apple Mac OS X 10.4.11 and 10.5.6 allows remote attackers to cause denial of service and potentially execute arbitrary code via a crafted movie file that triggers heap corruption.

MitigationUpgrade to a supported Mac OS X version if available, or implement network-based file scanning/monitoring to block untrusted movie files. Since these are end-of-life OS versions, consider migration to supported systems.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:= 10.4.11= 10.5.6
Mac Os X ServerOperating system
Affected:= 10.4.11= 10.5.6

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the installed Mac OS X version
    Run 'sw_vers' in Terminal or System Profiler to identify the exact OS version number
    Affected if The version is exactly 10.4.11 or 10.5.6 (not 10.4.x or 10.5.x other than .6, and not later versions)
  2. Verify QuickTime is installed
    Check for /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickTime.framework or run 'system_profiler SPApplicationsDataType | grep -i quicktime'
    Affected if QuickTime is installed on the system (the Pixlet codec is bundled with QuickTime)
  3. Confirm Pixlet codec presence
    Look for /System/Library/Components/PixletCodec.component or check QuickTime codec list via QuickTime Player - About QuickTime Player
    Affected if The Pixlet codec component exists on the system

The system is affected only if it is running exactly Mac OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5.6, has QuickTime installed, and the Pixlet codec is present; all three conditions must be true.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a supported Mac OS X version if available, or implement network-based file scanning/monitoring to block untrusted movie files. Since these are end-of-life OS versions, consider migration to supported systems.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,180
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-0009 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data