Analyst readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is an old Microsoft Windows Workstation service memory corruption flaw. An authenticated remote user could send a crafted RPC message to affected legacy Windows systems. On XP and Server 2003 it may allow privilege gain; on Vista and Server 2008 it may cause denial of service.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority if legacy Windows remains in production. The issue is old, but affected platforms are end-of-life and often difficult to monitor, making remediation or isolation important for risk reduction.
Technical view
CVE-2009-1544 is a double-free issue, CWE-415, in the Windows Workstation service. The supplied CVSS 3.1 vector is network exploitable, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. Microsoft tracks it as the Workstation Service Memory Corruption Vulnerability in MS09-041.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Windows XP SP2/SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista RTM/SP1/SP2, or Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP2 remain reachable by authenticated users over RPC-related services.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or other evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability requires authenticated remote access, reducing anonymous internet risk but still creating material risk in internal networks or compromised-account scenarios.
Researcher notes
The public bundle provides affected OS families and impact split by platform, but not detailed patch file versions or workarounds. Validate against MS09-041 and OVAL data rather than inferring unsupported product coverage.
Mitigation direction
- Apply the Microsoft security update described in MS09-041.
- Review MS09-041 for vendor-approved deployment guidance and workarounds.
- Identify and retire unsupported affected Windows versions where possible.
- Limit access to legacy affected systems while remediation is planned.
Validation and detection
- Inventory systems for the affected Windows versions named in the CVE description.
- Confirm whether the MS09-041 update is installed on in-scope hosts.
- Use the referenced OVAL definition where compatible with your scanner.
- Review whether authenticated users can reach Workstation/RPC services on legacy hosts.
Public sources used
Based on public source material and reviewed before publication.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-415: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2009-1544 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- TA09-223ACVE reference · third-party-advisory, x_refsource_CERT
- MS09-041CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_MS
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6286CVE reference · vdb-entry, signature
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Double Free
Double Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.