Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2014-9763
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 · uneditedimlib2 before 1.4.7 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (divide-by-zero error and application crash) via a crafted PNM file.
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 confidenceimlib2 before version 1.4.7 contains a divide-by-zero vulnerability in its PNM (Portable Anymap Format) image parser. When processing a specially crafted PNM file with malicious dimensions or parameters, the division operation results in zero, causing the application to crash. This is a denial-of-service vulnerability exploitable remotely via user-supplied image files.
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<= 1.4.6CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 imlib2 versionRun 'imlib2_version' command or check package manager: dpkg -l | grep imlib2 (Debian) or rpm -qa | grep imlib2 (RPM-based)Affected if Version is 1.4.6 or lower, or unknown/unspecified version on Debian 7.0/8.0 systems
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Confirm imlib2 library file presenceLocate the shared library: find /usr/lib -name 'libimlib2*' 2>/dev/null or check /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/ (adjust for architecture)Affected if Library exists but version cannot be determined from package query
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Verify PNM format processing capabilityCheck if imlib2 was compiled with PNM loader support by examining loader directory: ls /usr/lib/imlib2/loaders/ | grep -i pnm or review imlib2 configurationAffected if PNM loader module is present and available to the application
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Check for applications using imlib2 with PNM inputReview application logs or code that processes image uploads/files; identify if PNM files (.pnm, .ppm, .pgm, .pbm extensions) are accepted or processedAffected if Application accepts or processes PNM format images from untrusted sources
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Cross-reference Debian release versionRun 'cat /etc/debian_version' to confirm system is Debian 7.0 or 8.0, then check imlib2 package version via apt-cache policy libimlib2-devAffected if Running Debian 7.0 or 8.0 with imlib2 package version at or below 1.4.6
A system is affected if it runs imlib2 version 1.4.6 or lower AND processes PNM image files, particularly on Debian 7.0 or 8.0 where the vulnerable version ships with the distribution.
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 imlib2 to version 1.4.7 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement file-type validation and size limits on uploaded PNM files before processing, and consider disabling PNM format support if not required.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-9763 — 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-2014-9763 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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- 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
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