XNU 1228.9.59 and earlier on Apple Mac OS X 10.5.6 and earlier does not properly restrict interaction between user space and the HFS IOCTL handler, which allows local users to overwrite kernel memory and gain privileges by attaching an HFS+ disk image and performing certain steps involving HFS_GET_BOOT_INFO fcntl calls.
CVE-2009-1235
- 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
- 57.9%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
April 2, 2009
Last Modified
April 23, 2026
References (26)
- cve@mitrehttp://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2009/Aug/msg00001.html
- cve@mitrehttp://secunia.com/advisories/34424
- cve@mitrehttp://secunia.com/advisories/36096
- cve@mitrehttp://support.apple.com/kb/HT3757
- cve@mitrehttp://www.digit-labs.org/files/exploits/xnu-hfs-fcntl-v2.c
- cve@mitrehttp://www.digit-labs.org/files/exploits/xnu-hfs-fcntl-v2.sh
- cve@mitrehttp://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/mac/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216401181
- cve@mitrehttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34203
- cve@mitrehttp://www.securitytracker.com/id?1022671
- cve@mitrehttp://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-218A.html
- cve@mitrehttp://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0822
- cve@mitrehttp://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2172
- cve@mitrehttps://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/8266
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2009/Aug/msg00001.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://secunia.com/advisories/34424
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 7× in last 7d / 40× 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.
- 2026-07-06 16:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 02:19 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-23 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-10 22:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 13:17 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 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
- 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-30 17:26 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-30 17:26 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
- 2026-05-26 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 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-8266✓ verifiedFirst seen Mar 23, 2009
Apple Mac OSX xnu 1228.x - 'hfs-fcntl' Kernel Privilege Escalation
Open source ↗
Frequently asked(4)
What is CVE-2009-1235?
When was CVE-2009-1235 disclosed?
Is CVE-2009-1235 actively exploited?
How do I remediate CVE-2009-1235?
Dependency Blast Radius
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