CVE-2014-4394
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 integrated graphics driver routine in the Intel Graphics Driver subsystem in Apple OS X before 10.9.5 does not properly validate calls, which allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context via a crafted application, a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-4395, CVE-2014-4396, CVE-2014-4397, CVE-2014-4398, CVE-2014-4399, CVE-2014-4400, CVE-2014-4401, and CVE-2014-4416.
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 privilege escalation vulnerability in the Intel Graphics Driver subsystem for OS X versions prior to 10.9.5 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context due to improper validation of calls in an integrated graphics driver routine. The attacker must trick the user into running a crafted malicious application.
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= 10.8.5= 10.9= 10.9.1= 10.9.2= 10.9.3= 10.9.4CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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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Check installed OS X versionClick Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal. Look for the version number displayed.Affected if Version shows 10.8.5, 10.9, 10.9.1, 10.9.2, 10.9.3, or 10.9.4 (any version before 10.9.5)
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Confirm Intel Graphics Driver presenceCheck System Report > Graphics/Displays section in System Information, or look for Intel graphics kexts in /System/Library/Extensions/ (search for IntelGraphics*.kext)Affected if Intel integrated graphics driver is present and in use on the system
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Verify graphics driver versionRun 'kextstat | grep -i intel' in Terminal to list loaded Intel kernel extensions, or check the Intel Graphics Driver version in System Information > GraphicsAffected if Unable to determine driver version or driver is from an older bundle predating the 10.9.5 update
A user is affected if their Mac runs OS X 10.9.4 or earlier (including 10.8.5 or any 10.9.x version before 10.9.5) and uses an Intel integrated graphics driver.
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 Mac systems running OS X versions before 10.9.5 to OS X 10.9.5 or later to patch the vulnerable Intel Graphics Driver component. Verify graphics functionality after the update.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-4394 — 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-2014-4394 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
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