dbcve.org
Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2014-6311

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-11-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.2.6 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
generate_doygen.pl in ace before 6.2.7+dfsg-2 creates predictable file names in the /tmp directory which allows attackers to gain elevated privileges.

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 generate_doygen.pl script in the ace package before version 6.2.7+dfsg-2 uses predictable file names when creating temporary files in /tmp, allowing local attackers to perform a symlink attack and gain elevated privileges by pre-creating the predictable file path.

MitigationReplace predictable temporary file name generation with secure temporary file handling (e.g., File::Temp) or use unique unpredictable file names with appropriate permissions; update to patched version 6.2.7+dfsg-2 or later.

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:= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0
Adaptive Communication EnvironmentApplication
Affected:<= 6.2.6= 6.2.7

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if the ace package is installed
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep ace' on Debian systems, or check for the presence of the ace package via your system's package manager
    Affected if The ace package is found to be installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed version of the ace package
    Run 'dpkg -l ace' or 'dpkg -s ace' to retrieve the exact version number, or check the package metadata for version information
    Affected if The installed version is 6.2.6 or earlier, or is exactly 6.2.7 without the '+dfsg-2' suffix, indicating it falls within the affected version range
  3. Locate the generate_doygen.pl script
    Search for the file named 'generate_doygen.pl' in typical Perl script directories or within the ace package installation path, using 'find /usr -name generate_doygen.pl 2>/dev/null'
    Affected if The generate_doygen.pl script exists on the system, as this is the vulnerable component containing the predictable temp file flaw
  4. Inspect the script for predictable temporary file usage
    Examine the generate_doygen.pl script content and look for patterns that create temporary files in /tmp using non-randomized or predictable filenames, such as hardcoded filenames or predictable naming schemes
    Affected if The script contains code that creates temporary files in /tmp with predictable names rather than using secure methods like File::Temp, indicating the vulnerability is present and exploitable

A system is affected if the ace package is installed with a version in the affected range (6.2.6 or earlier, or exactly 6.2.7) and the generate_doygen.pl script exists on the system with its vulnerable predictable temp file behavior.

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 6.2.6
Interim mitigation

Replace predictable temporary file name generation with secure temporary file handling (e.g., File::Temp) or use unique unpredictable file names with appropriate permissions; update to patched version 6.2.7+dfsg-2 or later.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

ACE version 6.2.7+dfsg-2 or later (Debian packaged version)

  1. 1. Identify the installed ACE (Adaptive Communication Environment) version using package manager or software inventory
  2. 2. For Debian systems: run 'apt-get update && apt-get upgrade' to apply security updates
  3. 3. If automatic updates are not available, manually upgrade ACE package to version 6.2.7+dfsg-2 or later
  4. 4. After upgrade, restart any services that depend on ACE
  5. 5. Verify the fix by checking that generate_doygen.pl no longer uses predictable filenames in /tmp
Caveat Minor - this is a point release upgrade within the same major.minor version; should not break existing functionality

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

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,160
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,456.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-6311 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2014-6311 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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