CVE-2014-1314
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 · uneditedWindowServer in Apple OS X through 10.9.2 does not prevent session creation by a sandboxed application, which allows attackers to bypass the sandbox protection mechanism and execute arbitrary code via a crafted application.
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 confidenceThis is a sandbox escape vulnerability in macOS WindowServer (versions through 10.9.2). The WindowServer fails to properly prevent session creation by sandboxed applications, allowing a malicious sandboxed app to bypass the sandbox protection mechanism and execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox context.
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<= 10.9.2= 10.9= 10.9.1= 10.8.0= 10.8.1= 10.8.2= 10.8.3= 10.8.4= 10.8.5CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS versionOpen Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersionAffected if The version is 10.8.0, 10.8.1, 10.8.2, 10.8.3, 10.8.4, 10.8.5, 10.9, 10.9.1, or 10.9.2
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Confirm WindowServer is runningOpen Terminal and run: ps -Ac | grep WindowServerAffected if WindowServer process is not running (required for GUI on macOS)
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Identify sandboxed applications with session accessRun: sudo ps -eo pid,ppid,user,args | grep -i 'sandboxed' or inspect console logs for sandbox violations related to session creationAffected if Any application running in a sandbox context has created a WindowServer session, which should not be possible on patched systems
You are affected if your macOS version is 10.8.0 through 10.9.2 and you find sandboxed applications have unexpectedly created WindowServer sessions.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply Apple security update OS X 10.9.3 or later, which patches the WindowServer vulnerability. Alternatively, restrict application execution to only trusted sources from the Mac App Store or identified developers.
OS X 10.9.3 or later (or migrate to latest available OS X version such as macOS Sierra, High Sierra, or later)
- Backup your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution
- Download the latest OS X version from the Mac App Store or Apple's support website
- Install the new OS X version, following the on-screen prompts
- Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
- Verify the installation was successful by checking System Preferences > Software Update for any remaining updates
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,512.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-1314 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-1314 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data