CVE-2014-1379
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 · uneditedGraphics Drivers in Apple OS X before 10.9.4 allows attackers to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) via a 32-bit executable file for 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 · moderate confidenceVulnerability in Apple OS X graphics drivers before version 10.9.4 allows privilege escalation or denial of service via a crafted 32-bit executable file. The flaw triggers a NULL pointer dereference in the graphics driver, causing system crash or potentially allowing attackers to gain elevated privileges.
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= 10.8.0= 10.8.1= 10.8.2= 10.8.3= 10.8.4= 10.8.5= 10.9= 10.9.1= 10.9.2CVSS 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 the installed OS X versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or look at System Preferences > AboutAffected if The version is 10.8.0 through 10.8.5, 10.9, 10.9.1, 10.9.2, or 10.9.3 (any version <= 10.9.3)
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Confirm 32-bit executable support is enabledRun 'ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep -i kernel' to check kernel architecture, or attempt to run a 32-bit binary with 'file /path/to/binary' to verify 32-bit execution is possibleAffected if The system can execute 32-bit binaries (i386 architecture support is present)
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Identify graphics driver componentCheck for the presence of graphics kernel extensions in /System/Library/Extensions/ (such as IOAccelerator or related graphics drivers)Affected if Legacy graphics drivers are loaded (common in unpatched 10.8.x and 10.9.x versions)
The system is affected if it runs OS X version 10.9.3 or earlier (including all 10.8.x versions) and supports execution of 32-bit executables, as the NULL pointer dereference in the graphics driver can be triggered by a crafted 32-bit binary.
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 · scopedUpdate Apple OS X to version 10.9.4 or later, which contains the patched graphics drivers. Alternatively, restrict execution of untrusted 32-bit executables until the update can be applied.
macOS 10.9.4 or later (preferably latest supported macOS)
- Back up all critical data on the affected Mac system
- Upgrade to macOS 10.9.4 or later (recommended: upgrade to the latest supported macOS release for full security coverage)
- After upgrade, verify the system is running the patched version via Apple menu > About This Mac
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-1379 — 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-2014-1379 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