Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2014-8104
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 · uneditedOpenVPN 2.x before 2.0.11, 2.1.x, 2.2.x before 2.2.3, and 2.3.x before 2.3.6 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (server crash) via a small control channel packet.
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 · moderate confidenceOpenVPN versions prior to 2.0.11, 2.2.3, and 2.3.6 contain a vulnerability in control channel packet processing where a remote authenticated user can send a specially crafted small packet that triggers a server crash. The issue stems from improper handling of malformed control channel packets.
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
= 7.0= 8.0
OpenvpnApplication
= 2.0.1_rc1= 2.0.1_rc2= 2.0.1_rc3= 2.0.1_rc4= 2.0.1_rc5= 2.0.1_rc6= 2.0.1_rc7= 2.0.2_rc1= 2.0.3_rc1= 2.0.4= 2.0.6_rc1= 2.0.9
Openvpn Access ServerApplication
= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.5= 2.0.6= 2.0.7= 2.0.8= 2.0.10
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 12.04= 14.04= 14.10= 4.0= 12.3= 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
- Single
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:C
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.
-
Identify OpenVPN installation and versionRun 'openvpn --version' or check the package manager (dpkg -l openvpn, rpm -qi openvpn) to determine the installed versionAffected if The version is lower than 2.0.11, 2.2.3, or 2.3.6 (i.e., any version listed in the affected ranges)
-
Confirm OpenVPN is running as a serverCheck for running openvpn processes with 'ps aux | grep openvpn' and verify it is in server mode by examining the configuration file (typically /etc/openvpn/server.conf)Affected if OpenVPN is running as a server daemon with a server.conf configuration
-
Verify remote authentication is enabledExamine the server configuration for authentication settings such as 'plugin', 'auth-user-pass-verify', or client certificate configuration ('tls-auth' or 'ca' with client certificates)Affected if Remote user authentication (password, certificate, or both) is configured, allowing remote users to connect to the VPN server
The environment is affected if OpenVPN server is running a version prior to 2.0.11, 2.2.3, or 2.3.6 and allows remote authenticated users to connect.
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 dataUpgrade OpenVPN to version 2.0.11, 2.2.3, 2.3.6 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting VPN user access or implementing network-level controls to limit exposure to authenticated users.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-8104 — 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-2014-8104 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
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.
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