GlibcFramework / library · Gnu

CVE-2014-0475

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-07-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.19 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
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 directory traversal vulnerabilities in GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) before 2.20 allow context-dependent attackers to bypass ForceCommand restrictions and possibly have other unspecified impact via a .. (dot dot) in a (1) LC_*, (2) LANG, or other locale environment variable.

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

Directory traversal vulnerability in GNU C Library (glibc) allows context-dependent attackers to bypass ForceCommand restrictions via '..' in locale environment variables (LC_*, LANG, or other locale variables) before version 2.20.

MitigationUpdate glibc to version 2.20 or later to patch the vulnerability. This is a system library update that may require system restart to take effect.

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
GlibcFramework / library
Affected:<= 2.19= 2.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.0.5= 2.0.6= 2.1= 2.1.1= 2.1.1.6= 2.1.2

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/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. Determine installed glibc version
    Run 'ldd --version' to obtain the glibc version number, or use 'rpm -q glibc' on RHEL/CentOS, or 'dpkg -l libc6' on Debian/Ubuntu
    Affected if Version is 2.19 or lower, or matches any of the specific 2.0.x or 2.1.x versions listed in affected products (2.0 through 2.1.2)
  2. Check for ForceCommand usage in SSH
    Search SSH configuration files (typically /etc/ssh/sshd_config) for 'ForceCommand' directives or 'Match' blocks that enforce restricted command execution
    Affected if ForceCommand is configured and enforced in the SSH daemon configuration
  3. Identify applications using restricted command execution
    Audit services or applications that execute commands in a restricted context (such as Git hooks, scp, sftp, or other subsystems that use ForceCommand or similar mechanisms) and accept user-controlled environment variables
    Affected if Services execute restricted commands while allowing locale environment variables (LC_*, LANG, etc.) to be passed through

You are affected if your glibc version is 2.19 or lower (or matches the listed 2.0.x/2.1.x versions) AND you use ForceCommand or similar command restriction mechanisms that can be bypassed via '..' in locale environment variables

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 2.19
Interim mitigation

Update glibc to version 2.20 or later to patch the vulnerability. This is a system library update that may require system restart to take effect.

Fix this in Glibc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-0475 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2014-0475 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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