CVE-2009-0562 is a vulnerability that was discovered in 2009. It affected the popular web server software Apache Tomcat, which is used by millions of websites worldwide. The vulnerability allowed an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the server, potentially gaining full access to the system. This could lead to sensitive data being stolen or the server being used for malicious purposes.
The vulnerability was caused by a flaw in the way Tomcat handled certain requests. Specifically, when processing a request with a specially crafted content-length header, Tomcat would allocate memory incorrectly, leading to a buffer overflow. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious request to a vulnerable Tomcat server, causing it to execute arbitrary code.
When the vulnerability was first discovered, a patch was quickly released by the Apache Software Foundation, the organization responsible for developing and maintaining Tomcat. However, many organizations were slow to apply the patch, leaving their servers vulnerable. As a result, there were several high-profile attacks that exploited this vulnerability, including one against Twitter in 2009. The incident served as a reminder of the importance of timely software updates and the risks associated with running outdated software.