Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2014-9655
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 (1) putcontig8bitYCbCr21tile function in tif_getimage.c or (2) NeXTDecode function in tif_next.c in LibTIFF allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (uninitialized memory access) via a crafted TIFF image, as demonstrated by libtiff-cvs-1.tif and libtiff-cvs-2.tif.
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 confidenceLibTIFF contains an uninitialized memory read vulnerability in the putcontig8bitYCbCr21tile function (tif_getimage.c) and NeXTDecode function (tif_next.c). When processing a specially crafted TIFF image, the code reads from uninitialized memory regions, potentially exposing sensitive data or causing unpredictable behavior, leading to denial of service.
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<= 4.0.6CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed LibTIFF versionRun 'dpkg -l | grep libtiff' on Debian/Ubuntu, 'rpm -qa | grep libtiff' on RHEL/CentOS, or check the library file directly with 'ls -la /usr/lib*/libtiff*' and inspect version symbols if neededAffected if Installed version is 4.0.6 or earlier, or on Debian 7.0/8.0 systems with LibTIFF installed
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Verify the vulnerable code path existsCheck if libtiff is linked into any running image processing applications: 'ldd <application_binary> | grep tiff' or check '/proc/<pid>/maps' for running processes using libtiffAffected if Applications are dynamically linked against a vulnerable LibTIFF version and process TIFF images
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Determine if TIFF image processing is occurringMonitor or inspect active processes that handle TIFF files - look for file operations on .tif/.tiff extensions or check application logs for TIFF-related operationsAffected if The system processes TIFF images using the affected library functions putcontig8bitYCbCr21tile or NeXTDecode
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Check for NeXT-format or YCbCr-encoded TIFF imagesInspect the /tmp directory, upload directories, or application data directories for .tif/.tiff files. Use 'file <image.tif>' to check if images are NeXT format or contain YCbCr color spaceAffected if The system processes NeXT-format TIFF images or YCbCr-encoded TIFF images with a vulnerable LibTIFF version
You are affected if your system runs any version of LibTIFF at or before 4.0.6 (or Debian 7.0/8.0) and processes TIFF images, particularly NeXT-format or YCbCr-encoded ones, using the linked library.
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 LibTIFF to the latest version which includes proper initialization of variables in the affected functions. Ensure any applications statically linking LibTIFF are rebuilt with the patched library.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,872.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-9655 — 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-2014-9655 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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