CVE-2009-2936
HIGHEPSS 99th pctlDescription
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.
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v2 Vector
No CVSS vector data available.
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 99% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-35082 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
| CVE-2023-35078 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
| CVE-2017-7921 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | - |
| CVE-2024-7593 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | - |
| CVE-2023-46805 | High | 8.2 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | - |
| CVE-2022-40684 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2009-2936?
Upgrade varnish on debian 11 to 2.1.0-2 or later.
Is CVE-2009-2936 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2009-2936 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 63.8% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2009-2936?
CVE-2009-2936 has a CVSS v2 base score of 7.5, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2009-2936 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for varnish (Debian). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-04-29.