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CVE-2014-9620

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via...

5.0 MediumFix available

CVE-2014-9620 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.0) in File Project File, published January 8, 2015. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 4.68%, the 91st percentile. Fixed in file 1:5.21+15-1.

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large number of notes.

Exploit likelihood

4.68%Up 2.5 points since Feb 4, 2022
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

NVD Score used 5.0

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large number of notes.

Record
CVE-2014-9620
CVSS 2.0
5.0 MediumAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Weakness
CWE-399
Updated
2026-11-02
CVE List No score

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large number of notes.

Record
CVE-2014-9620
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2014-9433 No score

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large number of notes.

Record
EUVD-2014-9433
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-7ffm-2w4x-4wm5 No score

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via...

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large number of notes.

Record
GHSA-7ffm-2w4x-4wm5
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV No score

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large number of notes.

Record
CVE-2014-9620
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2014-9620 No score

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large number of notes.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2014-9620
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 5 moreShow less
OSVMGASA-2015-0030 No score

Updated file packages fix security vulnerabilities

Updated file packages fix security vulnerabilities:

Alexander Cherepanov reported that using the file command on a specially-crafted ELF binary could lead to a denial of service due to uncontrolled resource consumption while processing ELF section headers (CVE-2014-9620, CVE-2014-9621).

As part of the fixes, several limits on aspects of the detection were added or tightened, sometimes resulting in messages like "recursion limit exceeded" or "too many program header sections".

To mitigate such shortcomings, these limits are controllable by a new -P, --parameter option in the file program.

Record
MGASA-2015-0030
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2015-0040 No score

Updated php packages fix security vulnerabilities

Updated php and libgd packages fix security vulnerabilities:

Double free vulnerability in the zend_ts_hash_graceful_destroy function in zend_ts_hash.c in the Zend Engine in PHP before 5.5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via unknown vectors (CVE-2014-9425).

sapi/cgi/cgi_main.c in the CGI component in PHP before 5.5.21, when mmap is used to read a .php file, does not properly consider the mapping's length during processing of an invalid file that begins with a # character and lacks a newline character, which causes an out-of-bounds read and might allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from php-cgi process memory by leveraging the ability to upload a .php file or trigger unexpected code execution if a valid PHP script is present in memory locations adjacent to the mapping (CVE-2014-9427).

Use after free vulnerability in unserialize() in PHP before 5.5.21 (CVE-2015-0231).

Free called on an uninitialized pointer in php-exif in PHP before 5.5.21 (CVE-2015-0232).

The readelf.c source file has been removed from PHP's bundled copy of file's libmagic, eliminating exposure to denial of service issues in ELF file parsing such as CVE-2014-8116, CVE-2014-8117, CVE-2014-9620 and CVE-2014-9621 in PHP's fileinfo module.

A buffer read overflow in gd_gif_in.c in the php#68601 bug referenced in the PHP 5.5.21 ChangeLog has been fixed in the libgd package.

The php package has been updated to version 5.5.21 to fix these issues and other bugs. Please see the upstream ChangeLog for more information.

Record
MGASA-2015-0040
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2017:3048-1 No score

Security update for file

The GNU file utility was updated to version 5.22.

Security issues fixed:

  • CVE-2014-9621: The ELF parser in file allowed remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a long string. (bsc#913650)
  • CVE-2014-9620: The ELF parser in file allowed remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large number of notes. (bsc#913651)
  • CVE-2014-9653: readelf.c in file did not consider that pread calls sometimes read only a subset of the available data, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (uninitialized memory access) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted ELF file. (bsc#917152)
  • CVE-2014-8116: The ELF parser (readelf.c) in file allowed remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption or crash) via a large number of (1) program or (2) section headers or (3) invalid capabilities. (bsc#910253)
  • CVE-2014-8117: softmagic.c in file did not properly limit recursion, which allowed remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption or crash) via unspecified vectors. (bsc#910253)

Version update to file version 5.22

  • add indirect relative for TIFF/Exif
  • restructure elf note printing to avoid repeated messages
  • add note limit, suggested by Alexander Cherepanov
  • Bail out on partial pread()'s (Alexander Cherepanov)
  • Fix incorrect bounds check in file_printable (Alexander Cherepanov)
  • PR/405: ignore SIGPIPE from uncompress programs
  • change printable -> file_printable and use it in more places for safety
  • in ELF, instead of '(uses dynamic libraries)' when PT_INTERP is present print the interpreter name.

Version update to file version 5.21

  • there was an incorrect free in magic_load_buffers()
  • there was an out of bounds read for some pascal strings
  • there was a memory leak in magic lists
  • don't interpret strings printed from files using the current locale, convert them to ascii format first.
  • there was an out of bounds read in elf note reads

Update to file version 5.20

  • recognize encrypted CDF documents
  • add magic_load_buffers from Brooks Davis
  • add thumbs.db support

Additional non-security bug fixes:

  • Fixed a memory corruption during rpmbuild (bsc#1063269)
  • Backport of a fix for an increased printable string length as found in file 5.30 (bsc#996511)
  • file command throws 'Composite Document File V2 Document, corrupt: Can't read SSAT' error against excel 97/2003 file format. (bsc#1009966)
Record
SUSE-SU-2017:3048-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2014-9620 No score

The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large number of notes.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2014-9620
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-3686-1 No score

file vulnerabilities

Alexander Cherepanov discovered that file incorrectly handled a large number of notes. An attacker could use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2014-9620)

Alexander Cherepanov discovered that file incorrectly handled certain long strings. An attacker could use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2014-9621)

Alexander Cherepanov discovered that file incorrectly handled certain malformed ELF files. An attacker could use this issue to cause a denial of service, or possibly execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2014-9653)

It was discovered that file incorrectly handled certain magic files. An attacker could use this issue with a specially crafted magic file to cause a denial of service, or possibly execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2015-8865)

It was discovered that file incorrectly handled certain malformed ELF files. An attacker could use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2018-10360)

Record
USN-3686-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
file
Debian:12
before 1:5.21+15-1
1:5.21+15-1
file
Debian:13
before 1:5.21+15-1
1:5.21+15-1
file
Debian:14
before 1:5.21+15-1
1:5.21+15-1
file
Debian:7
before 5.11-2+deb7u7, plus listed versions
5.11-25.11-2+deb7u15.11-2+deb7u25.11-2+deb7u35.11-2+deb7u45.11-2+deb7u55.11-2+deb7u6
5.11-2+deb7u7
file
Mageia:4
before 5.16-1.10.mga4
5.16-1.10.mga4
php
Mageia:4
before 5.5.21-1.mga4
5.5.21-1.mga4
php-apc
Mageia:4
before 3.1.15-4.11.mga4
3.1.15-4.11.mga4
libgd
Mageia:4
before 2.1.0-3.2.mga4
2.1.0-3.2.mga4
file-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
Show 36 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
file-static
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-libs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
python-magic
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-static
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-libs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
python-magic
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-static
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-libs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
python-magic
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-static
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file-libs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
python-magic
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
before 0:5.04-30.el6
0:5.04-30.el6
file
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
file
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
file
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
file
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
python-magic
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
file
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP3
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
python-magic
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP3
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
file
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
file
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
file
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
file
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3
before 5.22-10.3.1
5.22-10.3.1
file
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS
before 1:5.14-2ubuntu3.4, plus listed versions
5.11-2ubuntu41:5.14-2ubuntu11:5.14-2ubuntu21:5.14-2ubuntu31:5.14-2ubuntu3.11:5.14-2ubuntu3.21:5.14-2ubuntu3.3
1:5.14-2ubuntu3.4
file
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
before 1:5.25-2ubuntu1.1, plus listed versions
1:5.22+15-2ubuntu11:5.25-2ubuntu1
1:5.25-2ubuntu1.1
file
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
before 1:5.32-2ubuntu0.1, plus listed versions
1:5.32-11:5.32-2
1:5.32-2ubuntu0.1

History

History
WhenChangedSources
2026-11-03aliasesEUVD
2026-11-02createdCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

References

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