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BfgminerApplication

CVE-2014-4502

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-07-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.2.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
Multiple heap-based buffer overflows in the parse_notify function in sgminer before 4.2.2, cgminer before 4.3.5, and BFGMiner before 4.1.0 allow remote pool servers to have unspecified impact via a (1) large or (2) negative value in the Extranonc2_size parameter in a mining.subscribe response and a crafted mining.notify request.

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 confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow in the parse_notify function of multiple cryptocurrency mining software (sgminer, cgminer, BFGMiner). Malicious pool servers can send a large or negative Extranonc2_size value in mining.subscribe responses, followed by crafted mining.notify requests, causing memory corruption that could lead to remote code execution on connected miner clients.

MitigationUpgrade to sgminer 4.2.2+, cgminer 4.3.5+, or BFGMiner 4.1.0+ which contain bounds checking on the Extranonc2_size parameter. If upgrading is not possible, use trusted pool servers only and monitor for unexpected miner crashes.

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
BfgminerApplication
Affected:<= 4.0.0<= 3.2.9= 3.2.0= 3.2.1= 3.2.2= 3.2.3= 3.2.4= 3.2.5= 3.2.6= 3.2.7= 3.2.8
SgminerApplication
Affected:<= 4.2.1= 4.0.0= 4.1.0= 4.1.153= 4.1.242= 4.1.271= 4.2.0

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/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 installed mining software
    Run 'bfgminer --version', 'sgminer --version', or 'cgminer --version' to determine which miner is present and its version number
    Affected if The version returned matches any of the affected versions: BFGMiner <=4.0.0 or <=3.2.9 or 3.2.0-3.2.8; Sgminer <=4.2.1 or 4.0.0, 4.1.0, 4.1.153, 4.1.242, 4.1.271, or 4.2.0; or any unpatched cgminer version
  2. Check miner configuration for pool connections
    Examine the miner's configuration file or running parameters for pool server URLs. Common locations: config files in /etc, ~/.cgminer/, ~/.bfgminer/, or command-line -o pool arguments
    Affected if The miner is configured to connect to remote pool servers, especially ones that are not explicitly trusted
  3. Verify miner process behavior
    Monitor running miner process for unexpected termination or check system logs for crash reports related to the mining software
    Affected if The miner is crashing repeatedly or producing segmentation fault errors in logs

You are affected if you are running any version of BFGMiner, sgminer, or cgminer within the affected ranges AND your miner connects to pool servers, because the vulnerability is triggered by malicious pool servers sending specially crafted responses.

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 4.2.1
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to sgminer 4.2.2+, cgminer 4.3.5+, or BFGMiner 4.1.0+ which contain bounds checking on the Extranonc2_size parameter. If upgrading is not possible, use trusted pool servers only and monitor for unexpected miner crashes.

Recommended fix High confidence

bfgminer 4.1.0+ / sgminer 4.2.2+ / cgminer 4.3.5+ (depending on which software is in use)

  1. 1. Identify which mining software is in use (bfgminer, sgminer, or cgminer) by checking the installed binary or package.
  2. 2. Check the current version of the mining software using --version or -V flag.
  3. 3. For bfgminer users: Upgrade to version 4.1.0 or later.
  4. 4. For sgminer users: Upgrade to version 4.2.2 or later.
  5. 5. For cgminer users: Upgrade to version 4.3.5 or later.
  6. 6. Obtain the upgraded binary from the official project repository or trusted package manager.
  7. 7. Stop the currently running mining software.
  8. 8. Replace the old binary with the new version.
Caveat Minor: Verify compatibility with mining pool configurations and any custom FPGA/GPU configurations after upgrade

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

Fix this in Bfgminer Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,790
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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-2014-4502 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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