CVE-2014-2972
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to...
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to gain privileges and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted lookup value.
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
4.6
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to gain privileges and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted lookup value.
- Record
CVE-2014-2972- CVSS 2.0
- 4.6 Medium
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-189
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to gain privileges and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted lookup value.
- Record
CVE-2014-2972- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2014-2994 No score
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to gain privileges and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted lookup value.
- Record
EUVD-2014-2994- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9qqj-vrhc-8q74 No score
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to...
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to gain privileges and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted lookup value.
- Record
GHSA-9qqj-vrhc-8q74- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV No score
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to gain privileges and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted lookup value.
- Record
CVE-2014-2972- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2014-2972 No score
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to gain privileges and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted lookup value.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2014-2972- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:10017-1 No score
exim-4.86.2-2.2 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the exim-4.86.2-2.2 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:10017-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2014-2972 No score
expand.c in Exim before 4.83 expands mathematical comparisons twice, which allows local users to gain privileges and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted lookup value.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2014-2972- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-2933-1 No score
exim4 vulnerabilities
It was discovered that Exim incorrectly filtered environment variables when used with the perl_startup configuration option. If the perl_startup option was enabled, a local attacker could use this issue to escalate their privileges to the root user. This issue has been fixed by having Exim clean the complete execution environment by default on startup, including any subprocesses such as transports that call other programs. This change in behaviour may break existing installations and can be adjusted by using two new configuration options, keep_environment and add_environment. (CVE-2016-1531)
Patrick William discovered that Exim incorrectly expanded mathematical comparisons twice. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to perform arbitrary file operations as the Exim user. This issue only affected Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2014-2972)
- Record
USN-2933-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
exim4Debian:12 |
before 4.82.1-2 | 4.82.1-2 |
exim4Debian:13 |
before 4.82.1-2 | 4.82.1-2 |
exim4Debian:14 |
before 4.82.1-2 | 4.82.1-2 |
exim4Ubuntu:14.04:LTS |
before 4.82-3ubuntu2.1, plus listed versions 4.80-7ubuntu34.80-7ubuntu44.80-9ubuntu14.80-9ubuntu24.82-3ubuntu14.82-3ubuntu2 |
4.82-3ubuntu2.1 |
exim4Ubuntu:14.04:LTS From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 4.82-3ubuntu2.1, plus listed versions 4.80-7ubuntu34.80-7ubuntu44.80-9ubuntu14.80-9ubuntu24.82-3ubuntu14.82-3ubuntu2 |
4.82-3ubuntu2.1 |
eximopenSUSE:Tumbleweed From an advisory covering 11 CVEs |
before 4.86.2-2.2 | 4.86.2-2.2 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2014-2972 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.6) in Exim, published September 4, 2014. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.49%, the 42nd percentile. Fixed in exim4 4.82.1-2.
References
lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2014-August/136264.html
git.exim.org/exim.git/commitdiff/7685ce68148a083d7759e78d01aa5198fc099c44
lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2014-August/136251.html
lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20140722.145949.42c043f5.en.html
lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20140722.152452.d6c019e8.en.html
security.gentoo.org/glsa/201607-12
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ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2933-1
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1122552
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-2972
github.com/advisories/GHSA-9qqj-vrhc-8q74
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2014-2972
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2014-2972
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-2933-1
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-2972
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-1531
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2010-2023
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2010-2024
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2010-4344
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2010-4345
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2011-0017
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2011-1407
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2011-1764
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-5671
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-2957
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-2972
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-1531