CVE-2009-4611 — jetty
HIGHCVE-2009-4611 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.3) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in org.mortbay.jetty:jetty. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.mortbay.jetty:jetty — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper input validation in Mort Bay Jetty
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2009-4611 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.mortbay.jetty:jetty☕org.mortbay.jetty:jettyReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Mort Bay Jetty 6.x through 6.1.22 and 7.0.0 writes backtrace data without sanitizing non-printable characters, which might allow remote attackers to modify a window's title, or possibly execute arbitrary commands or overwrite files, via an HTTP request containing an escape sequence for a terminal emulator, related to (1) a string value in the Age parameter to the default URI for the Cookie Dump Servlet in test-jetty-webapp/src/main/java/com/acme/CookieDump.java under cookie/, (2) an alphabetic value in the A parameter to jsp/expr.jsp, or (3) an alphabetic value in the Content-Length HTTP header to an arbitrary application.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.mortbay.jetty:jetty | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.1.23 | 6.1.23org.mortbay.jetty:jetty:6.1.23 |
| ☕Maven | org.mortbay.jetty:jetty | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.0.2 | 7.0.2org.mortbay.jetty:jetty:7.0.2 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.mortbay.jetty:jetty, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.mortbay.jetty:jetty to 6.1.23 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2009-4611 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2009-4611 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2009-4611. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2009-4611 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2009-4611 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.