CVE-2014-1371
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 · uneditedArray index error in Dock in Apple OS X before 10.9.4 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (incorrect function-pointer dereference and application crash) by leveraging access to a sandboxed application for sending a message.
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 an array index error in the Dock component of Apple OS X versions prior to 10.9.4. A sandboxed application can send a specially crafted message to the Dock, causing an incorrect function-pointer dereference due to the out-of-bounds array access, leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service via application crash.
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<= 10.9.3= 10.7.0= 10.7.1= 10.7.2= 10.7.3= 10.7.4= 10.7.5= 10.8.0= 10.8.1= 10.8.2= 10.8.3= 10.8.4= 10.7.0= 10.7.1= 10.7.2= 10.7.3= 10.7.4= 10.7.5CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check the installed OS X versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in TerminalAffected if The version returned is 10.9.3 or lower, or matches 10.7.0 through 10.8.4 (specifically 10.7.0, 10.7.1, 10.7.2, 10.7.3, 10.7.4, 10.7.5, 10.8.0, 10.8.1, 10.8.2, 10.8.3, or 10.8.4)
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Confirm this is Mac OS X (desktop) and not Mac OS X ServerRun 'sw_vers -productName' in TerminalAffected if The product name is 'Mac OS X' rather than 'Mac OS X Server', because the vulnerability exists in the Dock component which is present in the desktop OS
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Verify the Dock process is runningRun 'ps aux | grep -i /Dock' in TerminalAffected if The Dock process is active (the vulnerability requires the Dock to be present and accessible for a sandboxed app to send it a crafted message)
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Check if any sandboxed applications have Dock accessReview running applications in Activity Monitor and check their sandbox status; the flaw requires a sandboxed app to send a message to the DockAffected if Sandboxed applications are running and can communicate with the Dock service (the Dock must be listening for inter-process messages)
You are affected if your macOS version is 10.9.3 or earlier (specifically 10.7.x through 10.8.x or 10.9.0-10.9.3), you are running the desktop version of OS X (not Server), and the Dock component is active and accessible to sandboxed applications.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade to OS X 10.9.4 or later, which contains the patched Dock component that properly validates array indices before dereferencing function pointers.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-1371 — 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-2014-1371 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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