sys_term.c in telnetd in FreeBSD 7.0-RELEASE and other 7.x versions deletes dangerous environment variables with a method that was valid only in older FreeBSD distributions, which might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by passing a crafted environment variable from a telnet client, as demonstrated by an LD_PRELOAD value that references a malicious library.
CVE-2009-0641
- No confirmed exploitation signals yet
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- —
- EG Score
- 0.0(none)
- EPSS
- 94.8%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
February 20, 2009
Last Modified
April 23, 2026
References (10)
- cve@mitrehttp://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2009-February/067954.html
- cve@mitrehttp://security.freebsd.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-09:05.telnetd.asc
- cve@mitrehttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/33777
- cve@mitrehttps://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/48780
- cve@mitrehttps://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/8055
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2009-February/067954.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://security.freebsd.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-09:05.telnetd.asc
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/33777
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/48780
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/8055
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 4× in last 7d / 34× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-05 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-05 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-04 06:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 04:52 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-27 03:05 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-25 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-23 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-22 14:22 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-21 14:53 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-19 19:22 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-15 17:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-14 23:14 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-12 23:08 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-10 22:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 13:17 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-08 14:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 06:07 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-04 13:09 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-30 18:07 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-30 18:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
- 2026-05-29 13:40 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-24 16:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-20 11:20 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-18 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore
Publicly available exploits
(1 reference)Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.
- Exploit-DBEDB-8055✓ verifiedFirst seen Feb 16, 2009
FreeBSD 7.0-RELEASE - Telnet Daemon Privilege Escalation
Open source ↗
Frequently asked(4)
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Dependency Blast Radius
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