Description
Boa 0.94.14rc21 writes data to a log file 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.
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- BOA Web Server 0.94.x - Terminal Escape Sequence in Logs Command Injection EDB-33504 · remote · Jan 11, 2010 · verified
GitHub 1 repository
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enriquenegri-cyberlaw/boa-webserver-log-escape-injection-cve-2009-4496 ★ 0 · Aug 12, 2026
Defensive analysis of CVE-2009-4496: terminal escape-sequence injection into Boa web server logs — source review, patch analysis and reproducible checks.
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
References
- FEDORA-2010-7640 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2010-7645 vendor-advisory
- 39775 third-party-advisory
- 37718 vdb-entry
- http://www.ush.it/team/ush/hack_httpd_escape/adv.txt
- ADV-2010-1133 vdb-entry
- FEDORA-2010-7599 vendor-advisory
- 20100110 Nginx, Varnish, Cherokee, thttpd, mini-httpd, WEBrick, Orion, AOLserver, Yaws and Boa log escape sequence injection mailing-list