medium
4.3
CWE
79
Advisory Published
Updated

CVE-2009-4142: XSS

First published: Mon Dec 21 2009(Updated: )

The htmlspecialchars function in PHP before 5.2.12 does not properly handle (1) overlong UTF-8 sequences, (2) invalid Shift_JIS sequences, and (3) invalid EUC-JP sequences, which allows remote attackers to conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks by placing a crafted byte sequence before a special character.

Credit: secalert@redhat.com

Affected SoftwareAffected VersionHow to fix
PHP=4.3.9
PHP=4.4.9
PHP=3.0
PHP=5.2.9
PHP=4.0-beta1
PHP=3.0.5
PHP=3.0.11
PHP=5.1.5
PHP=4.0-beta4
PHP=4.2.0
PHP=5.1.1
PHP=3.0.1
PHP=3.0.2
PHP=4.4.4
PHP=5.0.0-beta1
PHP=4.1.0
PHP=5.1.6
PHP=4.3.4
PHP=4.0.4
PHP=4.3.0
PHP=4.0.5
PHP=5.0-rc1
PHP=5.2.2
PHP=3.0.8
PHP=5.0.5
PHP=4.3.6
PHP=3.0.13
PHP=5.0.1
PHP=4.0.7-rc4
PHP=5.1.4
PHP=5.2.5
PHP=4.0.7-rc2
PHP=4.3.7
PHP=5.0.4
PHP=4.0.7-rc1
PHP=4.2.2
PHP=4.4.2
PHP=4.0-rc1
PHP=3.0.7
PHP=4.3.2
PHP=4.3.11
PHP=4.0.0
PHP=3.0.6
PHP=4.0.3-patch1
PHP=3.0.17
PHP=4.0.7
PHP=4
PHP=4.0.2
PHP=4.3.3
PHP=5.0-rc3
PHP=2.0
PHP=4.1.1
PHP=3.0.15
PHP=3.0.16
PHP=5.2.6
PHP=4.4.3
PHP=5.0.0-rc2
PHP=5.2.3
PHP=5.0.3
PHP=3.0.10
PHP=3.0.4
PHP=4.2.3
PHP=5.1.0
PHP<=5.2.11
PHP=4.4.5
PHP=4.0.1-patch1
PHP=5.0.0-rc3
PHP=4.0
PHP=4.0-beta2
PHP=4.0.1-patch2
PHP=2.0b10
PHP=4.4.8
PHP=4.0.6
PHP=5.2.0
PHP=5.0-rc2
PHP=5.2.4
PHP=4.1.2
PHP=5.0.0-beta3
PHP=4.0.7-rc3
PHP=4.0-rc2
PHP=4.3.1
PHP=5.1.3
PHP=3.0.18
PHP=4.0-beta_4_patch1
PHP=4.4.0
PHP=5.2.10
PHP=4.3.10
PHP=4.2.1
PHP=5.0.0-rc1
PHP=4.0.4-patch1
PHP=4.0.1
PHP=1.0
PHP=5.0.2
PHP=4.4.6
PHP=3.0.12
PHP=4.2
PHP=4.4.1
PHP=4.0-beta3
PHP=5.2.1
PHP=4.0.3
PHP=3.0.14
PHP=3.0.9
PHP=3.0.3
PHP=5.0.0-beta4
PHP=5
PHP=5.0.0
PHP=4.3.8
PHP=4.3.5
PHP=5.0.0-beta2
PHP=5.2.8
PHP=4.4.7

Remedy

http://www.php.net/ChangeLog-5.php

Never miss a vulnerability like this again

Sign up to SecAlerts for real-time vulnerability data matched to your software, aggregated from hundreds of sources.

Read MoreStart Free Trial

Reference Links

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the severity of CVE-2009-4142?

    CVE-2009-4142 has been classified as a medium severity vulnerability that allows for cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

  • How do I fix CVE-2009-4142?

    To fix CVE-2009-4142, upgrade PHP to version 5.2.12 or later, which addresses the issue with the htmlspecialchars function.

  • Which PHP versions are affected by CVE-2009-4142?

    CVE-2009-4142 affects PHP versions prior to 5.2.12, including 4.x and early 5.x versions.

  • What kind of attacks can CVE-2009-4142 facilitate?

    CVE-2009-4142 can facilitate cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages.

  • Is CVE-2009-4142 still a threat today?

    While CVE-2009-4142 is an older vulnerability, systems running affected PHP versions remain at risk if not updated.

Company

Resources

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2025 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203