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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2014-5119

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-08-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.20 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Off-by-one error in the __gconv_translit_find function in gconv_trans.c in GNU C Library (aka glibc) allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or execute arbitrary code via vectors related to the CHARSET environment variable and gconv transliteration modules.

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

An off-by-one error in the __gconv_translit_find function in glibc's gconv_trans.c allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code via vectors involving the CHARSET environment variable and gconv transliteration modules.

MitigationUpdate glibc to a version containing the fix. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting or sanitizing the CHARSET environment variable in untrusted contexts until the update can be applied.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
GlibcFramework / library
Affected:< 2.20

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
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 glibc version
    Run `ldd --version` or check `/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6` (or appropriate path for your architecture) using `libc.so.6 --version`
    Affected if The reported version is earlier than 2.20 (for example 2.13, 2.17, etc.)
  2. Confirm Debian 7.x baseline
    Check OS release with `cat /etc/debian_version`
    Affected if Running Debian 7.0 (wheezy) which ships with vulnerable glibc versions
  3. Detect CHARSET environment variable usage
    Run `env | grep -i charset` to see if CHARSET is set in the current environment
    Affected if CHARSET environment variable is set and the system runs any program that loads gconv transliteration modules
  4. Locate gconv transliteration modules
    Check for the presence of gconv module directories: `ls -la /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gconv/` or `/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gconv/` (path varies by architecture)
    Affected if gconv modules are present and accessible, which is the default state on most glibc installations
  5. Test for vulnerable gconv_translit_find behavior
    If CHARSET is set, attempt to invoke a gconv-related operation via iconv or examine core dumps from any existing incidents involving CHARSET-triggered crashes
    Affected if Programs crash with symptoms pointing to gconv_trans.c when CHARSET contains certain values, indicating exploitation of the off-by-one flaw

You are affected if your system runs glibc versions below 2.20 (or Debian 7.0) AND the CHARSET environment variable is utilized with gconv modules present in your environment.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.20 or later
Fixed in 2.20
Interim mitigation

Update glibc to a version containing the fix. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting or sanitizing the CHARSET environment variable in untrusted contexts until the update can be applied.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,360
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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-2014-5119 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
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