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JdkApplication · Sun

CVE-2009-1098

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-03-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.6.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
Buffer overflow in Java SE Development Kit (JDK) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0 Update 17 and earlier; 6 Update 12 and earlier; 1.4.2_19 and earlier; and 1.3.1_24 and earlier allows remote attackers to access files or execute arbitrary code via a crafted GIF image, aka CR 6804998.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-119

The program reads or writes outside the bounds of an allocated buffer, corrupting adjacent memory. With crafted input an attacker can overwrite control data and, with effort, redirect execution to their own code. Remediation ranges from bounds checking and safe library functions to compiler mitigations, usually alongside a careful audit of the surrounding code.

General guidance for the memory buffer bounds error class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
JdkApplication
Affected:<= 1.5.0<= 1.6.0= 1.5.0= 1.6.0
JreApplication
Affected:<= 1.5.0<= 1.6.0= 1.5.0= 1.6.0<= 1.3.1_24= 1.3.1= 1.3.1_01= 1.3.1_2= 1.3.1_03= 1.3.1_04= 1.3.1_05= 1.3.1_06
SdkApplication
Affected:<= 1.3.1_24= 1.3.1= 1.3.1_01= 1.3.1_01a= 1.3.1_02= 1.3.1_03= 1.3.1_04= 1.3.1_05= 1.3.1_06= 1.3.1_07= 1.3.1_08= 1.3.1_09

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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

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

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.6.0
Vendor patch sunsolve.sun.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Java 5.0 Update 18+, Java 6 Update 13+, Java 7 or later (preferred: Java 17 LTS or Java 21 LTS for long-term support)

  1. Identify the exact currently installed Java version using 'java -version' or checking the JRE/JDK installation directory
  2. For JDK 5.0 (1.5.x): Upgrade to JDK 5.0 Update 18 or later (or migrate to a supported newer JDK)
  3. For JDK 6 (1.6.x): Upgrade to JDK 6 Update 13 or later (or migrate to a supported newer JDK)
  4. For JRE 5.0 (1.5.x): Upgrade to JRE 5.0 Update 18 or later
  5. For JRE 6 (1.6.x): Upgrade to JRE 6 Update 13 or later
  6. For SDK 1.3.1.x: Upgrade to SDK 1.3.1_25 or later
  7. After upgrade, verify the fix by running 'java -version' and confirming the updated version number
  8. Test that critical Java applications function correctly with the new version
Caveat Older Java applications may have compatibility issues with newer JDK versions; testing in a non-production environment is recommended before deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can identify the exact fixed release, upgrade, and verify it in staging — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

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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-2009-1098 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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