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U BootApplication · Denx

CVE-2019-14193

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-07-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2019.07 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
An issue was discovered in Das U-Boot through 2019.07. There is an unbounded memcpy with an unvalidated length at nfs_readlink_reply, in the "if" block after calculating the new path length.

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 confidence

U-Boot contains an unbounded memcpy vulnerability in the nfs_readlink_reply function where a calculated path length is used without validation, allowing a buffer overflow. This occurs in the NFS client code when processing NFS readlink replies.

MitigationUpdate U-Boot to a version after 2019.07 which includes bounds checking on the path length before the memcpy operation in nfs_readlink_reply. If patching is not possible, disable NFS client support in U-Boot configurations.

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
U BootApplication
Affected:<= 2019.07

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the installed U-Boot version
    Check the U-Boot version string in the bootloader binary, boot logs, or version header file (version.h). Common commands: 'strings u-boot.bin | grep U-Boot' or check the boot console output.
    Affected if The version is 2019.07 or any earlier version (e.g., 2019.04, 2018.x, etc.)
  2. Verify if NFS client support is enabled
    Inspect the U-Boot configuration file (.config or defconfig) for CONFIG_CMD_NFS or CONFIG_NFS. For built binaries, use 'grep NFS' on the image or check the configuration used during build.
    Affected if CONFIG_CMD_NFS or CONFIG_NFS is set to y/yes, enabling NFS client functionality
  3. Confirm NFS client is compiled into the binary
    Check the U-Boot binary for NFS-related symbols or strings: 'strings u-boot.bin | grep -i nfs' or use binwalk/fwalk to identify NFS code presence.
    Affected if NFS client code is present in the compiled U-Boot image
  4. Determine if the system uses NFS boot or mounts NFS volumes
    Review the boot scripts (boot.scr, boot.env), kernel command line, or filesystem mount configurations to identify any NFS usage.
    Affected if NFS is configured as a boot source or mounted filesystem in the environment

You are affected if your U-Boot version is 2019.07 or earlier AND the NFS client feature (CONFIG_NFS) is enabled in your build configuration.

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 2019.07
Interim mitigation

Update U-Boot to a version after 2019.07 which includes bounds checking on the path length before the memcpy operation in nfs_readlink_reply. If patching is not possible, disable NFS client support in U-Boot configurations.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

U-Boot 2019.10 or later (any stable release after 2019.07)

  1. 1. Identify all U-Boot deployments in your environment that are running version 2019.07 or earlier
  2. 2. Obtain the latest stable U-Boot release from the official source (https://gitlab.denx.de/u-boot/u-boot) or your board vendor
  3. 3. Build the new U-Boot version for your specific hardware platform using the standard build process (make <board_defconfig> && make)
  4. 4. Replace the vulnerable U-Boot binary/image on affected devices or in your build system
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version string at boot (or via fw_printenv/version)
Caveat Review board-specific changes between 2019.07 and your target version, as some board configurations or deprecated features may require updates

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

Fix this in U Boot Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
Get the upgrade done

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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-2019-14193 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