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Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2014-4461

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-11-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.10.1 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 kernel in Apple iOS before 8.1.1 and Apple TV before 7.0.2 does not properly validate IOSharedDataQueue object metadata, which allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged 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

The kernel in Apple iOS before 8.1.1 and Apple TV before 7.0.2 fails to properly validate IOSharedDataQueue object metadata. This IOKit framework vulnerability allows a malicious application to corrupt kernel memory and achieve arbitrary code execution with privileged (kernel) context.

MitigationApply Apple's iOS 8.1.1 or later update for iOS devices, and Apple TV 7.0.2 or later for Apple TV devices, to patch the kernel validation vulnerability.

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
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:<= 8.1= 8.0= 8.0.1= 8.0.2
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:<= 10.10.1= 10.8.5= 10.9.5= 10.10.0
TvosOperating system
Affected:<= 7.0.1= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.2= 6.1= 6.1.1= 6.1.2= 6.2= 6.2.1= 7.0

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. Check iOS version on iPhone or iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About and look at the Version field, or connect device to computer and check via iTunes or ideviceinfo command
    Affected if Version is 8.0, 8.0.1, 8.0.2, or 8.1 (any version at or below 8.1 on iOS)
  2. Check Apple TV version
    Go to Settings > General > About on Apple TV and note the version number, or check via atvVersion tool or plist files
    Affected if Version is 6.0 through 7.0.1 (any version at or below 7.0.1 on Apple TV)
  3. Check Mac OS X version
    Go to Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal, or check SystemVersion.plist
    Affected if Version is 10.8.5, 10.9.5, 10.10.0, or 10.10.1 (any version at or below 10.10.1)
  4. Verify IOKit framework is present
    Check for existence of /System/Library/Frameworks/IOKit.framework or run 'kextstat | grep IOKit' in Terminal to list loaded IOKit kernel extensions
    Affected if The IOKit framework is present (this is the vulnerable component; it is present by default in all affected OS versions)
  5. Confirm IOSharedDataQueue availability
    Check for IOKit user-space client library at /System/Library/Frameworks/IOKit.framework/Versions/Current/IOKit, or examine kernel symbols for IOSharedDataQueue via 'nm /System/Library/Kernels/* | grep IOSharedDataQueue' on affected systems
    Affected if IOSharedDataQueue symbols or framework binary exists (the vulnerable code path exists in the kernel)

You are affected if your device runs iOS 8.0-8.1, Apple TV 6.0-7.0.1, or Mac OS X 10.8.5-10.10.1 and the IOKit framework with IOSharedDataQueue is present (which is default in these versions).

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 10.10.1
Interim mitigation

Apply Apple's iOS 8.1.1 or later update for iOS devices, and Apple TV 7.0.2 or later for Apple TV devices, to patch the kernel validation vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 8.1.1 or later; Apple TV 7.0.2 or later; OS X 10.10.1 (Yosemite) or later; for full security coverage, upgrade to the latest supported OS version for each platform

  1. Identify the affected Apple product (iOS, OS X, or Apple TV) running on the system
  2. For iOS devices: Upgrade to iOS 8.1.1 or later (note: iOS 8 is no longer supported; consider upgrading to a currently supported iOS version for continued security support)
  3. For Apple TV devices: Upgrade to Apple TV software 7.0.2 or later (note: older Apple TV models have limited update paths; consider upgrading to a supported Apple TV model)
  4. For Mac OS X systems: Upgrade to OS X 10.10.1 (Yosemite) or later; for better security support, upgrade to the latest supported macOS version your hardware can run
  5. After upgrading, verify the new OS version is installed by checking Settings > General > About on iOS, or System Preferences > Software Update on macOS
Caveat iOS 8.1.1 is an older release; upgrading to a currently supported iOS version is strongly recommended for security updates; some older hardware may not support newer iOS versions

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

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2014-4461 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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