dbcve.org
TvosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2014-4380

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.0.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
The IOHIDFamily kernel extension in Apple iOS before 8 and Apple TV before 7 lacks proper bounds checking on write operations, which allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in the kernel's context 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 confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the IOHIDFamily kernel extension of Apple iOS and Apple TV due to missing bounds checking on write operations. An attacker can exploit this by running a crafted application to execute arbitrary code with kernel (ring 0) privileges, achieving complete device compromise.

MitigationUpdate affected devices to iOS 8 or later, or Apple TV version 7 or later, as these versions contain Apple's official patch for the kernel extension bounds checking issue.

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
TvosOperating system
Affected:<= 6.2= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.2= 6.1= 6.1.1= 6.1.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:<= 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= 7.1.1
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:<= 10.0.2

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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the device type and operating system
    Determine whether the system is an iOS device (iPhone/iPad), Apple TV, or Mac. On iOS, go to Settings > General > About > Version. On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version. On Mac, click Apple menu > About This Mac.
    Affected if The device runs a version of iOS <= 7.1.2, Apple TV <= 6.2, or Mac OS X <= 10.0.2.
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone or iPad
    On the iOS device, navigate to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to Version.
    Affected if The reported iOS 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, or 7.1.2, or any version <= 7.1.2.
  3. Check Apple TV version
    On the Apple TV, navigate to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The reported tvOS version is 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 6.1, 6.1.1, 6.1.2, or any version <= 6.2.
  4. Check Mac OS X version
    On the Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner, select About This Mac, and note the OS X version number displayed.
    Affected if The reported Mac OS X version is 10.0.2 or any version <= 10.0.2.
  5. Verify IOHIDFamily kernel extension presence
    On Mac, run 'kextstat | grep IOHIDFamily' in Terminal. On iOS/Apple TV, this is a built-in component that cannot be directly verified without jailbreaking.
    Affected if The device is a vulnerable iOS, Apple TV, or Mac OS X version from the affected ranges.

The environment is affected if the device runs iOS version 7.1.2 or earlier, Apple TV version 6.2 or earlier, or Mac OS X version 10.0.2 or earlier, as these contain the vulnerable IOHIDFamily kernel extension.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 10.0.2
Interim mitigation

Update affected devices to iOS 8 or later, or Apple TV version 7 or later, as these versions contain Apple's official patch for the kernel extension bounds checking issue.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 8.0+ and Apple TV 7.0+

  1. Upgrade iOS devices to version 8.0 or later
  2. Upgrade Apple TV devices to version 7.0 or later
  3. After upgrading, verify the IOHIDFamily kernel extension version includes the bounds checking fix by checking system information or reviewing the Apple security update notes for your specific version
Caveat iOS 8 may have app compatibility considerations for older applications; some legacy apps may not function on iOS 8

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Tvos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-4380 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2014-4380 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data