CVE-2014-4381
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 · uneditedLibnotify in Apple iOS before 8 and Apple TV before 7 lacks proper bounds checking on write operations, which allows attackers to execute arbitrary code as root 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 · moderate confidenceLibnotify in Apple iOS before 8 and Apple TV before 7 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability due to insufficient bounds checking on write operations. This allows a malicious application to write beyond buffer boundaries and execute arbitrary code with root 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<= 10.9.4<= 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= 7.1.1<= 6.2= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.2= 6.1= 6.1.1= 6.1.2CVSS 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
- 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 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 (iOS) or Apple TV. On iOS: Settings > General > About. On Apple TV: Settings > General > About.Affected if Device is an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV running a vulnerable OS version
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Check iOS version on iPhone or iPadNavigate to Settings > General > About > Version on the iOS device. Note the exact version number displayed.Affected if iOS version is 7.1.2 or earlier, or any 7.0.x, 7.1, or 7.1.1 version (vulnerable range: <= 7.1.2)
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Check Apple TV software versionNavigate to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV. Note the exact version number displayed.Affected if Apple TV software is 6.2 or earlier, or any 6.0.x, 6.1, 6.1.1, or 6.1.2 version (vulnerable range: <= 6.2)
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Check Mac OS X version (if applicable)Click Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the OS X version number displayed.Affected if Mac OS X is 10.9.4 or earlier (vulnerable range: <= 10.9.4)
The environment is affected if the device runs iOS 7.1.2 or earlier, Apple TV 6.2 or earlier, or Mac OS X 10.9.4 or earlier, since the Libnotify buffer overflow requires these specific vulnerable versions to be 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.
dbcve · scopedApply the vendor-supplied updates: upgrade iOS devices to version 8 or later, and Apple TV devices to version 7 or later. There is no client-side code fix; this vulnerability resides in Apple's proprietary library.
iOS 8.0+ | tvOS 7.0+ | Mac OS X security update after 10.9.4
- Upgrade iOS devices to iOS 8 or later (iOS 8.0 is the minimum fixed version)
- Upgrade Apple TV devices to tvOS 7 or later
- For Mac OS X 10.9.4 or earlier, apply the corresponding security update (Apple Security Update 2014-005 or later)
- After upgrading, verify the system reports the new OS version via Settings > General > About on iOS, or Settings > General > About on Apple TV
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2014-4381 — 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-2014-4381 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data