CVE-2014-4401
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-2014-4394, CVE-2014-4395, CVE-2014-4396, CVE-2014-4397, CVE-2014-4398, CVE-2014-4399, CVE-2014-4400, 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 confidenceThis is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Intel Graphics Driver subsystem in Apple OS X prior to version 10.9.5. An unspecified driver routine fails to properly validate calls, allowing a locally placed crafted application to execute arbitrary code in a privileged (kernel) context.
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 the installed OS X versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to obtain the exact OS X version numberAffected if The version is 10.8.5, 10.9, 10.9.1, 10.9.2, 10.9.3, or 10.9.4 (any version prior to 10.9.5)
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Verify Intel Graphics Driver presenceCheck system profiler for Intel graphics: run 'system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType | grep -i intel' to see if Intel integrated graphics hardware is presentAffected if Intel graphics hardware is detected and the OS X version is in the affected range
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Confirm the graphics driver is loadedRun 'kextstat | grep -i intel' to list loaded Intel kernel extensions (such as AppleIntelFramebuffer)Affected if Intel graphics kernel extensions are loaded and the OS X version is prior to 10.9.5
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Check system uptime for patch windowReview when the system was last rebooted by running 'uptime' to understand if updates may have been applied recentlyAffected if System has not been updated since the 10.9.5 release and the OS X version remains in the affected range
A user is affected if their OS X version is 10.8.5 through 10.9.4 and the system utilizes Intel integrated graphics with the vulnerable driver component loaded.
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 dataApply Apple OS X 10.9.5 or later security update which includes the patched Intel Graphics Driver. For systems that cannot update, consider restricting local user privileges and monitoring for suspicious graphics-related applications.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2014-4401 — 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-2014-4401 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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