CVE-2009-1537
Microsoft DirectX NULL Byte Overwrite Vulnerability
Does this matter?
Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 3 June 2026). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise.
Description
Unspecified vulnerability in the QuickTime Movie Parser Filter in quartz.dll in DirectShow in Microsoft DirectX 7.0 through 9.0c on Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, and Windows Server 2003 SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted QuickTime media file, as exploited in the wild in May 2009, aka "DirectX NULL Byte Overwrite Vulnerability."
- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 51.36% probability · 99th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Listed 20 May 2026 · due 3 June 2026
- Weakness
- CWE-158
- Affected
- microsoft/directx · microsoft/windows 2000 · microsoft/windows 2003 server · microsoft/windows server 2003 · microsoft/windows xp
- Source
- secure@microsoft.com
EPSS 51.4% since 27 October 2026; no change recorded yet. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
CISA notes
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-028 ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-1537
References
- http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2009/05/28/microsoft-security-advisory-971778-vulnerability-in-microsoft-directshow-released.aspxVendor Advisory
- http://blogs.technet.com/srd/archive/2009/05/28/new-vulnerability-in-quicktime-parsing.aspxVendor Advisory
- http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=6481Not Applicable
- http://osvdb.org/54797Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/35268Vendor Advisory
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/971778.mspxPatch, Vendor Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35139Broken Link
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1022299Broken Link
- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-195A.htmlUS Government Resource
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1445Vendor Advisory
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1886Vendor Advisory
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-028Vendor Advisory
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6237Broken Link
- http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2009/05/28/microsoft-security-advisory-971778-vulnerability-in-microsoft-directshow-released.aspxVendor Advisory
- http://blogs.technet.com/srd/archive/2009/05/28/new-vulnerability-in-quicktime-parsing.aspxVendor Advisory
- http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=6481Not Applicable
- http://osvdb.org/54797Broken Link
- http://secunia.com/advisories/35268Vendor Advisory
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/971778.mspxPatch, Vendor Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35139Broken Link
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1022299Broken Link
- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-195A.htmlUS Government Resource
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1445Vendor Advisory
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1886Vendor Advisory
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-028Vendor Advisory
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6237Broken Link
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2009-1537US Government Resource
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.