What is CVE-2009-1242?

CVE-2009-1242 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 4.9 out of 10, classified as a Improper Input Validation flaw (CWE-20). CVE-2009-1242 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2009-1242?

CVE-2009-1242 has a CVSS score of 4.9 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2009-1242?

Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for CVE-2009-1242 patch availability.

Is CVE-2009-1242 actively exploited?

CVE-2009-1242 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2009-1242

Medium

The vmx_set_msr function in arch/x86/kvm/vmx.c in the VMX implementation in the KVM subsystem in the Linux kernel before 2.6.29.1 on the i386 platform allows guest OS users to cause a denial of service (OOPS) by setting the EFER_LME (aka "Long mode enable") bit in the Extended Feature Enable Register (EFER) model-specific register, which is specific to the x86_64 platform.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2009-04-06

Last modified 2026-04-23

CVSS version 2.0

Patch available

Awaiting data

CVSS 2.0 score

4.9

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

User Interaction

Scope

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

Vector string

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

Weakness type

CWE-20

CVE-2009-1242 is a Improper Input Validation vulnerability

What is Improper Input Validation?

The product receives input but does not validate it correctly, allowing attackers to craft inputs that cause unexpected behavior. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

27 total

Kernel.org
http://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/15549/

Patch Vendor Advisory
Openwall
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/04/01/3

Mailing List Patch Third Party Advisory
Red Hat
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=502109

Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory
Kernel Git
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=16175a796d061833aacfbd9672235f2d2725df65
Lists
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-06/msg00001.html

Mailing List Third Party Advisory

Showing 5 of 27 references View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2009-1242

Severity Medium

CVSS score 4.9 / 10

CVSS version 2.0

Published 2009-04-06

Modified 2026-04-23

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2009-1242?

CVE-2009-1242 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 4.9 out of 10 , classified as an Improper Input Validation flaw (CWE-20) . CVE-2009-1242 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2009-1242?

CVE-2009-1242 has a CVSS score of 4.9 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 2.0). The vector string is AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2009-1242?

Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for CVE-2009-1242 patch availability.
Is CVE-2009-1242 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2009-1242 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.