CVE-2014-9620
The ELF parser in file 5.08 through 5.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via...
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
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 Medium
AV: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
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
fileDebian:12 |
before 1:5.21+15-1 | 1:5.21+15-1 |
fileDebian:13 |
before 1:5.21+15-1 | 1:5.21+15-1 |
fileDebian:14 |
before 1:5.21+15-1 | 1:5.21+15-1 |
fileDebian: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 |
fileMageia:4 |
before 5.16-1.10.mga4 | 5.16-1.10.mga4 |
phpMageia:4 |
before 5.5.21-1.mga4 | 5.5.21-1.mga4 |
php-apcMageia:4 |
before 3.1.15-4.11.mga4 | 3.1.15-4.11.mga4 |
libgdMageia:4 |
before 2.1.0-3.2.mga4 | 2.1.0-3.2.mga4 |
file-debuginfoRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-develRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
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| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
file-staticRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
fileRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-libsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
python-magicRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-debuginfoRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-develRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-staticRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
fileRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-libsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
python-magicRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-debuginfoRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-staticRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
fileRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-develRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-libsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
python-magicRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-debuginfoRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-staticRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
fileRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-develRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
file-libsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
python-magicRed Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation |
before 0:5.04-30.el6 | 0:5.04-30.el6 |
fileSUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
fileSUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
fileSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
fileSUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
python-magicSUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
fileSUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP3 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
python-magicSUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP3 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
fileSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
fileSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
fileSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
fileSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 |
before 5.22-10.3.1 | 5.22-10.3.1 |
fileUbuntu: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 |
fileUbuntu: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 |
fileUbuntu: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
| When | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-03 | aliases | EUVD |
| 2026-11-02 | created | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
References
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/01/17/9
oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/linuxbulletinapr2016-2952096.html
usn.ubuntu.com/3686-1
rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-0760.html
github.com/file/file/commit/ce90e05774dd77d86cfc8dfa6da57b32816841c4
mx.gw.com/pipermail/file/2015/001660.html
Show 69 moreShow less
securityfocus.com/bid/71715
mx.gw.com/pipermail/file/2014/001653.html
debian.org/security/2015/dsa-3121
security.gentoo.org/glsa/201503-08
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2015-0040.html
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-9620
github.com/advisories/GHSA-7ffm-2w4x-4wm5
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2014-9620
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2015-0030.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=15064
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=15121
php.net/ChangeLog-5.php
access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016:0760
access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification
access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/6/html/6.8_Release_Notes/index.html
access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/6/html/6.8_Technical_Notes/index.html
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=809898
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1080453
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1098222
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1128587
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1154802
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1155071
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1169509
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1171580
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1174606
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1180639
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1190116
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1243650
security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/advisories/2016/rhsa-2016_0760.json
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-3538
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-3538
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3538
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-3587
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-3587
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3587
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-3710
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-3710
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3710
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-8116
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-8116
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-8116
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-8117
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-8117
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-8117
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-9620
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-9620
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-9653
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-9653
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-9653
suse.com/support/update/announcement/2017/suse-su-20173048-1
bugzilla.suse.com/1009966
bugzilla.suse.com/1063269
bugzilla.suse.com/910252
bugzilla.suse.com/910253
bugzilla.suse.com/913650
bugzilla.suse.com/913651
bugzilla.suse.com/917152
bugzilla.suse.com/996511
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-8116
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-8117
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-9620
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-9621
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-9653
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2014-9620
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-3686-1
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2014-9621
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2014-9653
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2015-8865
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-10360