CVE-2009-1578

CVE-2009-1578 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Squirrelmail with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-79.

Key facts

• Severity: Medium (CVSS 2.0 base score 4.3)
• EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (78th percentile)
• Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
• Weakness: CWE-79
• Affected product: Squirrelmail
• Published: 2009-05-14
• Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in SquirrelMail before 1.4.18 and NaSMail before 1.7 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors involving (1) certain encrypted strings in e-mail headers, related to contrib/decrypt_headers.php; (2) PHP_SELF; and (3) the query string (aka QUERY_STRING).

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2009-1578?

Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in SquirrelMail before 1.4.18 and NaSMail before 1.7 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors involving (1) certain encrypted strings in e-mail headers, related to contrib/decrypt_headers.php; (2) PHP_SELF; and (3) the query string (aka QUERY_STRING).

How severe is CVE-2009-1578?

CVE-2009-1578 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3, rated medium severity.

Is CVE-2009-1578 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (78th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2009-1578?

CVE-2009-1578 primarily affects Squirrelmail. In total, 59 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2009-1578?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2009-1578 published?

CVE-2009-1578 was published on 2009-05-14 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

• http://download.gna.org/nasmail/nasmail-1.7.zip
• http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2010//Jun/msg00001.html
• http://osvdb.org/60468
• http://secunia.com/advisories/35052
• http://secunia.com/advisories/35073
• http://secunia.com/advisories/35140
• http://secunia.com/advisories/35259
• http://secunia.com/advisories/37415
• http://secunia.com/advisories/40220
• http://squirrelmail.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/squirrelmail/branches/SM-1_4-STABLE/squirrelmail/contrib/decrypt_headers.php?r1=13672&r2=13671&pathrev=13672
• http://squirrelmail.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/squirrelmail/branches/SM-1_4-STABLE/squirrelmail/doc/ChangeLog
• http://squirrelmail.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/squirrelmail/branches/SM-1_4-STABLE/squirrelmail/functions/global.php?r1=13670&r2=13669&pathrev=13670
• http://squirrelmail.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/squirrelmail?view=rev&revision=13670
• http://squirrelmail.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/squirrelmail?view=rev&revision=13672
• http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4188
• http://www.debian.org/security/2009/dsa-1802
• http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2009:110
• http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2009-1066.html
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34916
• http://www.squirrelmail.org/security/issue/2009-05-08
• http://www.squirrelmail.org/security/issue/2009-05-09
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1296
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/3315
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/1481
• https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=500363
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/50459
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/50460
• https://gna.org/forum/forum.php?forum_id=2146
• https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A11624
• https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-May/msg00566.html

Affected products (59)

• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.3pre1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.3pre2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.4pre1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.4pre2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.5pre1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:0.5pre2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0pre1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0pre2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.0pre3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2.0_rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:squirrelmail:squirrelmail:1.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:

• 171.100.156.38 (ipv4-addr)