Enterprise Linux Desktop SupplementaryOperating system · Redhat
CVE-2014-7942
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 · uneditedThe Fonts implementation 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 unknown vectors.
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 confidenceGoogle Chrome's Fonts implementation fails to initialize memory for a data structure before use, creating an uninitialized memory vulnerability that could be exploited remotely to cause denial of service or potentially achieve unspecified impact via crafted font data.
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
Enterprise Linux Desktop SupplementaryOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux Server SupplementaryOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux Server Supplementary EusOperating system
= 6.6.z
Enterprise Linux Workstation SupplementaryOperating system
= 6.0
ChromeWeb browser
<= 40.0.2214.85
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 14.04= 14.10= 40.0.2214.110= 13.1= 13.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Google Chrome is installedOpen terminal and run: which google-chrome or locate google-chromeAffected if google-chrome executable is found on the system
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Determine installed Google Chrome versionRun: google-chrome --version or google-chrome --product-versionAffected if version returned is 40.0.2214.85 or lower
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Check if Chromium is installedRun: which chromium or which chromium-browserAffected if chromium/chromium-browser executable is found
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Determine installed Chromium versionRun: chromium --version or chromium-browser --versionAffected if version is 40.0.2214.110 (the affected Chromium version listed)
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Verify font handling is activeThe vulnerability is in font rendering - no specific config check needed; if the browser is installed and affected version, the font handling code is present and vulnerableAffected if Browser is installed and version falls within affected ranges (<=40.0.2214.85 for Chrome, =40.0.2214.110 for Chromium)
User is affected if Google Chrome version is 40.0.2214.85 or lower, or Chromium version is exactly 40.0.2214.110, as these contain the uninitialized memory flaw in the font handling code.
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 dataUpdate Google Chrome to version 40.0.2214.91 or later to obtain the patched font handling code.
Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop Supplementary
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-7942 — 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-2014-7942 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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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.
- 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