Summary
Denial of service in Apache Xerces2
XMLScanner.java in Apache Xerces2 Java, as used in Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) in JDK and JRE 6 before Update 15 and JDK and JRE 5.0 before Update 20, and in other products, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop and application hang) via malformed XML input, as demonstrated by the Codenomicon XML fuzzing framework.
Impact
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2009-2625? CVE-2009-2625 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in xerces:xercesImpl (maven), affecting versions < 2.10.0. It is fixed in 2.10.0.
- Which versions of xerces:xercesImpl are affected by CVE-2009-2625? xerces:xercesImpl (maven) versions < 2.10.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2009-2625? Yes. CVE-2009-2625 is fixed in 2.10.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2009-2625 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2009-2625 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2009-2625 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2009-2625? Upgrade
xerces:xercesImplto 2.10.0 or later.