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IdaApplication · Hex Rays

CVE-2014-9458

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-01-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.6 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
Heap-based buffer overflow in the GDB debugger module in Hex-Rays IDA Pro before 6.6 cumulative fix 2014-12-24 allows remote GDB servers to have unspecified 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 · moderate confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the GDB debugger module of Hex-Rays IDA Pro versions prior to 6.6 with the 2014-12-24 cumulative fix. The vulnerability allows remote GDB servers to trigger the overflow via unspecified vectors, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied cumulative fix from 2014-12-24 or upgrade IDA Pro to version 6.6 or later to patch the heap-based buffer overflow in the GDB debugger module.

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
IdaApplication
Affected:<= 6.6

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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/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 checks

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

  1. Check if IDA Pro is installed
    Locate the IDA Pro installation directory or check common installation paths (e.g., C:\Program Files\IDA Pro or /opt/ida)
    Affected if IDA Pro is installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed IDA Pro version
    Check the version information in the IDA Pro installation, typically found in the about dialog, the ida.exe file properties, or the version file in the installation directory
    Affected if The installed version is 6.6 or earlier (any version prior to the 2014-12-24 cumulative fix)
  3. Verify if the GDB debugger module is loaded or available
    Examine the IDA Pro plugins directory for the gdb plugin (usually named gdb.plw or similar) or check debugger plugin availability within IDA Pro
    Affected if The GDB debugger plugin is present and can be selected as the debugger type
  4. Check if the GDB debugger has been used or configured
    Look for recent debugger sessions, IDB files with GDB debugger settings, or check for saved debugger configurations that use the GDB debugger
    Affected if The GDB debugger has been used or configured for debugging sessions
  5. Determine if remote GDB server connections are used
    Review any scripts, configuration files, or documentation referencing remote GDB server connections to IDA Pro
    Affected if The environment involves connecting to remote GDB servers from IDA Pro

A user is affected if they have IDA Pro version 6.6 or earlier installed AND have used or have access to the GDB debugger module, especially when connecting to remote GDB servers.

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 6.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied cumulative fix from 2014-12-24 or upgrade IDA Pro to version 6.6 or later to patch the heap-based buffer overflow in the GDB debugger module.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IDA Pro 6.6 with cumulative fix 2014-12-24 or later (or latest stable 6.x/7.x release)

  1. 1. Verify current IDA Pro version by checking Help > About in the IDA Pro interface
  2. 2. If running a version older than IDA Pro 6.6 with the 2014-12-24 cumulative fix, obtain the updated version from Hex-Rays
  3. 3. Download IDA Pro 6.6 with the cumulative fix applied (version after 2014-12-24) from the official Hex-Rays customer portal
  4. 4. Back up any existing databases (.idb files) and plugin directories before upgrading
  5. 5. Install the updated version following standard installation procedures
  6. 6. Verify the installation by checking Help > About to confirm the version includes the 2014-12-24 cumulative fix or later
  7. 7. Test the GDB debugger module functionality to ensure the patch does not introduce regressions
Caveat Minor: Some older plugins may require recompilation or updates for compatibility with newer IDA Pro versions

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

Fix this in Ida Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2014-9458 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