CVE-2014-4860
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 · uneditedMultiple integer overflows in the Pre-EFI Initialization (PEI) boot phase in the Capsule Update feature in the UEFI implementation in EDK2 allow physically proximate attackers to bypass intended access restrictions by providing crafted data that is not properly handled during the coalescing phase.
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 confidenceInteger overflow vulnerabilities in the EDK2 UEFI Capsule Update feature's coalescing phase during the PEI boot allow physically proximate attackers to bypass access restrictions via crafted data. The overflows occur when handling capsule data, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation at boot time.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Verify Capsule Update is enabled in UEFI settingsEnter UEFI/BIOS setup (typically F2, F12, or Del at boot) and navigate to 'Boot' or 'Advanced' settings. Look for 'Capsule Update', 'BIOS Update', or 'Firmware Update' options and check if they are enabled.Affected if Capsule Update is enabled in UEFI settings (the vulnerability requires this feature to be active)
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Identify the system firmware vendor and versionIn Windows, run 'wmic bios get version,manufacturer' or check UEFI/BIOS setup main screen for BIOS/UEFI version number. Note the exact version string and vendor name.Affected if The installed firmware version has not been patched by the vendor (contact vendor to verify if CVE-2014-4860 is addressed in their update)
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Confirm the system uses EDK2-based UEFI firmwareCheck vendor documentation or UEFI setup for firmware implementation details. Many consumer and enterprise systems using modern UEFI are based on EDK2.Affected if The firmware is EDK2-based (most modern UEFI implementations use EDK2 as the underlying framework)
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Assess physical access exposureEvaluate whether the system could be accessed by untrusted physical actors who could exploit the coalescing phase during boot.Affected if Physically proximate attackers have access to the system during boot operations with crafted capsule data
A system is affected if it uses EDK2-based UEFI firmware with Capsule Update enabled and the vendor has not released a firmware patch addressing CVE-2014-4860.
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 vendor-provided UEFI/BIOS firmware updates that include the patched EDK2 version. Since physical access is required, ensure physical security of affected systems and disable capsule updates if not needed.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-4860 — 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-2014-4860 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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