CVE-2014-4379
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 · uneditedAn unspecified IOHIDFamily function in Apple iOS before 8 and Apple TV before 7 lacks proper bounds checking to prevent reading of kernel pointers, which allows attackers to bypass the ASLR protection mechanism 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 confidenceA bounds checking vulnerability in an unspecified IOHIDFamily kernel function in iOS before 8 and Apple TV before 7 allows a crafted application to read kernel pointers, enabling attackers to defeat ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) protection and potentially facilitate further kernel exploitation.
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<= 6.2= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.2= 6.1= 6.1.1= 6.1.2<= 10.9.4<= 7.1.2= 7.0= 7.0.1= 7.0.2= 7.0.3= 7.0.4= 7.0.5= 7.0.6= 7.1= 7.1.1CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N
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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Identify your Apple device typeDetermine if the device is an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac computer. This is typically visible on the device itself or in System Information on Mac.Affected if Device is an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch running iOS, or an Apple TV (not a Mac)
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Check iOS version on iPhone/iPad/iPodOn the device, go to Settings > General > About and look for the 'Version' field. Alternatively, connect to a computer with iTunes and check the device summary page.Affected if Version is 7.0, 7.0.1, 7.0.2, 7.0.3, 7.0.4, 7.0.5, 7.0.6, 7.1, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, or any version <= 7.1.2
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Check Apple TV versionOn Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version. The model number may also be shown which corresponds to specific software versions.Affected if Version is 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 6.1, 6.1.1, 6.1.2, or any version <= 6.2
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Check Mac OS X versionClick the Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number is displayed (such as 10.9, 10.9.1, 10.9.2, 10.9.3, or 10.9.4).Affected if Version is 10.9.4 or below (any 10.9.x version)
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Confirm IOHIDFamily is present (kernel extension)On Mac, run 'kextstat | grep -i IOHIDFamily' in Terminal to verify the IOHIDFamily kernel extension is loaded. On iOS/Apple TV, this kernel extension is present by default and cannot be checked without jailbreak.Affected if IOHIDFamily kernel extension exists on the device (standard on all affected products)
You are affected if your device is an iPhone/iPad/iPod running iOS 7.1.2 or below, an Apple TV running 6.2 or below, or a Mac running Mac OS X 10.9.4 or below, and the IOHIDFamily kernel extension is present.
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 dataUpdate affected iOS devices to version 8 or later and Apple TV devices to version 7 or later to obtain Apple's patched kernel code.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-4379 — 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-2014-4379 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