CVE-2009-0068
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 · uneditedInteraction error in xdg-open allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending a file with a dangerous MIME type but using a safe type that Firefox sends to xdg-open, which causes xdg-open to process the dangerous file type through automatic type detection, as demonstrated by overwriting the .desktop file.
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 confidencexdg-open has an interaction error where it performs automatic MIME type detection even when Firefox provides a safe MIME type, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending files with dangerous MIME types (e.g., malicious .desktop files) that bypass Firefox's type checking.
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= 1.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify xdg-utils is installedRun `which xdg-open` or `dpkg -l xdg-utils` (Debian) / `rpm -q xdg-utils` (RHEL) to confirm xdg-utils package is presentAffected if xdg-utils is not installed on the system
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Determine installed xdg-utils versionRun `xdg-open --version` or check the package version with your package manager (e.g., `dpkg -s xdg-utils | grep Version` or `rpm -qi xdg-utils`)Affected if The version reported is 1.0 exactly (this is the only affected version per the CVE data)
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Confirm xdg-open is used for Firefox file handlingCheck if Firefox is configured to open files via xdg-open by examining ~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list or /etc/gnome/defaults.list for xdg-open handlers, or inspect browser settings for external application handlersAffected if Firefox or other browsers are set to use xdg-open as the handler for downloaded or received files
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Check if automatic MIME detection is activeRun `xdg-mime query default` for various MIME types (e.g., xdg-mime query default application/x-desktop) and inspect if xdg-open attempts to re-detect MIME types instead of trusting the provided typeAffected if xdg-open ignores MIME types passed as arguments and performs its own detection, causing the bypass of Firefox's type checking
A user is affected if they have xdg-utils version 1.0 installed AND Firefox (or another browser) is configured to invoke xdg-open for handling files, allowing malicious MIME types to bypass security checks.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate xdg-utils to a version that trusts the MIME type provided by the calling application and disables automatic type detection, or configure Firefox to not invoke xdg-open for untrusted content.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-0068 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-0068 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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