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FreeBSDOperating system

CVE-2014-5384

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-08-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 VIQR module in the iconv implementation in FreeBSD 10.0 before p6 and NetBSD allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds array access) via a crafted argument to the iconv_open function. NOTE: this issue was SPLIT from CVE-2014-3951 per ADT2 due to different vulnerability types.

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 VIQR module in FreeBSD 10.0 before p6 and NetBSD's iconv implementation contains an out-of-bounds array access vulnerability in the iconv_open function. Attackers can trigger a denial of service by providing crafted arguments to this function.

MitigationUpgrade to FreeBSD 10.0-p6 or later, or apply the vendor patch to the VIQR module to add proper bounds checking in iconv_open.

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
FreeBSDOperating system
Affected:= 10.0
NetbsdOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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 the operating system
    Run 'uname -s' to determine if the system is FreeBSD or NetBSD
    Affected if System is not FreeBSD or NetBSD (other OSes are not affected)
  2. Check FreeBSD version and patch level
    Run 'uname -r' to get the version string; for FreeBSD 10.0, check the patch level with 'freebsd-version -u' or review patch notes
    Affected if FreeBSD version is 10.0 and patch level is before p6 (e.g., 10.0, 10.0-p1 through 10.0-p5)
  3. Check NetBSD version
    Run 'uname -r' to get the NetBSD version number
    Affected if Any NetBSD version is installed (all versions are affected)
  4. Determine if iconv with VIQR encoding is in use
    Search application code or configuration for calls to iconv_open using 'VIQR' as the target encoding (e.g., iconv_open("VIQR", ...))
    Affected if Applications or scripts actively call iconv_open with 'VIQR' as a charset parameter
  5. Test for crash condition
    If VIQR iconv is in use, attempt a benign call to iconv_open("VIQR", "ASCII") and observe for segmentation fault or abnormal termination
    Affected if iconv_open with VIQR causes a crash or out-of-bounds memory access

A system is affected if it runs FreeBSD 10.0 before p6 or any NetBSD version, AND actively uses the iconv function with VIQR encoding.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to FreeBSD 10.0-p6 or later, or apply the vendor patch to the VIQR module to add proper bounds checking in iconv_open.

Fix this in FreeBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2014-5384 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