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Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical

CVE-2014-0210

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-05-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.4.7 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Multiple buffer overflows in X.Org libXfont before 1.4.8 and 1.4.9x before 1.4.99.901 allow remote font servers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted xfs protocol reply to the (1) _fs_recv_conn_setup, (2) fs_read_open_font, (3) fs_read_query_info, (4) fs_read_extent_info, (5) fs_read_glyphs, (6) fs_read_list, or (7) fs_read_list_info function.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Multiple buffer overflow vulnerabilities exist in libXfont's xfs protocol handling functions (_fs_recv_conn_setup, fs_read_open_font, fs_read_query_info, fs_read_extent_info, fs_read_glyphs, fs_read_list, fs_read_list_info). Remote font servers can send crafted replies that overflow buffers, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution on the client system.

MitigationUpgrade libXfont to version 1.4.8 or later (or 1.4.99.901+ for 1.4.9x branches). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict communication to trusted font servers only or disable xfs font server usage in favor of locally installed fonts.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.04= 12.04= 12.10= 13.10= 14.04
LibxfontApplication
Affected:<= 1.4.7= 1.2.3= 1.2.4= 1.2.5= 1.2.6= 1.2.7= 1.2.8= 1.2.9= 1.3.0= 1.3.1= 1.3.2= 1.3.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed libXfont version
    Run 'dpkg -l libxfont1' on Debian/Ubuntu, 'rpm -q libXfont' on Red Hat-based systems, or check the library file directly with 'strings /usr/lib/libXfont.so.6 | grep -i "libxfont"' to find version strings
    Affected if The installed version is <= 1.4.7, or any version from 1.2.3 through 1.3.3 inclusive, or matches the Ubuntu versions 10.04, 12.04, 12.10, 13.10, or 14.04 which shipped vulnerable versions
  2. Determine if xfs font server is in use
    Check for running xfs processes with 'ps aux | grep xfs' or look for xfs in system service listings
    Affected if The xfs (X Font Server) daemon is running and accepting font connections from remote servers
  3. Inspect X font server configuration
    Review /etc/X11/fs/config or /etc/fs/config for active font server definitions, and check /etc/X11/xorg.conf for FontPath entries pointing to 'unix/:7101' or similar font server ports
    Affected if Configuration references remote or untrusted font servers (anything other than 'unix/' local socket or localhost)
  4. Check X environment for font server variables
    Run 'env | grep -i font' to check for FONT_SERVER environment variable or FontPath X server settings via 'xset -q'
    Affected if Environment variables or X settings point to remote font servers

You are affected if libXfont version is <= 1.4.7 or between 1.2.3-1.3.3 AND the system uses xfs font server to load fonts from remote or untrusted sources.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.4.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade libXfont to version 1.4.8 or later (or 1.4.99.901+ for 1.4.9x branches). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict communication to trusted font servers only or disable xfs font server usage in favor of locally installed fonts.

Fix this in Ubuntu Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-0210 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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