ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2014-7940

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-01-22

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to after 52.1 or later.

See remediation →

84/100

Remediation priority · High

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

The collator implementation in i18n/ucol.cpp in International Components for Unicode (ICU) 52 through SVN revision 293126, as used in Google Chrome before 40.0.2214.91, does not initialize memory for a data structure, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted character sequence.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The ICU library's collator implementation (i18n/ucol.cpp) fails to initialize memory for a data structure when processing crafted character sequences. This uninitialized memory can be read or manipulated, leading to denial of service or potentially arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate ICU library to version 53 or later (or patched SVN revision 293127+), or update Google Chrome to version 40.0.2214.91 or later. Regenerate or recompile any software that statically links the vulnerable ICU version.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

ChromeWeb browser

Affected:<= 40.0.2214.85

International Components For UnicodeApplication

Affected:<= 52.1

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

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

Identify installed ICU library version

Check the ICU library version by running 'icuinfo' or inspecting the ICU version header file (common paths include /usr/include/unicode/utypes.h or within the shared library metadata). If neither tool is available, examine the libicu library file properties.

Affected if The ICU version is 52.1 or earlier (versions through 52.1 are affected).
Identify installed Google Chrome version

Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://version, or run 'google-chrome --version' from the command line.

Affected if Chrome version is 40.0.2214.85 or earlier (versions through 40.0.2214.85 are affected).
Confirm application uses ICU collator functionality

Review application code or dependencies to determine if the ICU collator API (ucol_* functions from i18n/ucol.cpp) is being called. This includes use of ucol_strcoll, ucol_getSortKey, or similar collator functions.

Affected if The application uses ICU's collator functions to process character sequences, as the vulnerability lies in the collator implementation.
Determine if application processes external character input

Examine application logs, configuration, or code flow to identify if untrusted or crafted character sequences are passed to ICU collation functions.

Affected if External or untrusted character sequences are processed through ICU collator functions, enabling the vulnerability trigger.

Your environment is affected if you are running ICU version 52.1 or earlier, or Google Chrome version 40.0.2214.85 or earlier, AND your application uses ICU's collator functionality to process character sequences.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

From vendor data

Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 52.1

Interim mitigation

Update ICU library to version 53 or later (or patched SVN revision 293127+), or update Google Chrome to version 40.0.2214.91 or later. Regenerate or recompile any software that statically links the vulnerable ICU version.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation4.0 h
Testing3.0 h
Review / QA1.0 h

10.0 hours of engineering $1,750

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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-7940 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2014-7940?

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

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 52.1 or later

Severity 7.5 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 2.1%

Affects: Chrome

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Chrome 10 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $1,750

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2014-7940 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References