What is CVE-2009-1537?

CVE-2009-1537 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Directx, classified under CWE-158. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2009-05-29.

How severe is CVE-2009-1537?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2009-1537 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2009-1537 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-05-20), indicating it is being actively exploited.

Vulnerability in Microsoft Directx

CVE-2009-1537

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."

Published 2009-05-29 · last modified 2026-06-16.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.514 (98.9th percentile), scored 2026-10-18.

High probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — patch promptly. 99th percentile — 98.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.512 · newest: 0.514 · change: +0.002

Affected products

Microsoft Directx — versions 7.0, 7.0a, 7.1
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows 2003 Server
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Microsoft Windows Xp

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-158

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2026-05-20. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2026-06-03.

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

References

docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-028 (vendor-advisory, Vendor Advisory)
blogs.technet.com/srd/archive/2009/05/28/new-vulnerability-in-quicktime-parsing… (Vendor Advisory)
oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6237 (Broken Link, signature, vdb-entry)
secunia.com/advisories/35268 (Vendor Advisory, third-party-advisory)
www.securitytracker.com/id (vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1886 (vdb-entry, Vendor Advisory)
www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1445 (vdb-entry, Vendor Advisory)
osvdb.org/54797 (vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/35139 (vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-195A.html (US Government Resource, third-party-advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2009-1537?: CVE-2009-1537 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Directx, classified under CWE-158. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2009-05-29.
How severe is CVE-2009-1537?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2009-1537 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2009-1537 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-05-20), indicating it is being actively exploited.