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U BootApplication · Denx

CVE-2019-14197

CRITICAL · 9.1 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 a read of out-of-bounds data at nfs_read_reply.

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

Das U-Boot contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the nfs_read_reply function within its NFS client implementation. The vulnerability allows reading memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive data or causing denial of service. The flaw exists in all U-Boot versions through 2019.07.

MitigationUpdate Das U-Boot to a version newer than 2019.07 where the vulnerability is patched. If updating is not feasible, disable NFS client functionality in U-Boot and restrict network access to bootloader interfaces.

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
None
Availability
High

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

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

  1. Identify U-Boot version
    At bootloader prompt (typically '=>' ), run 'version' or 'bootz' with no arguments to display the U-Boot version string. Alternatively, check the build artifacts or firmware image for the embedded version banner.
    Affected if The displayed version is 2019.07 or earlier (e.g., 2019.04, 2018.x, etc.)
  2. Verify NFS client support is compiled in
    At the U-Boot prompt, run 'help' and look for NFS-related commands such as 'nfs', 'bootp', or 'setenv nfsboot'. Alternatively, check the U-Boot configuration file (defconfig or .config) for CONFIG_CMD_NFS or CONFIG_NFS=y.
    Affected if NFS commands are available or CONFIG_CMD_NFS/CONFIG_NFS is enabled in the build configuration
  3. Confirm active NFS boot configuration
    Run 'printenv' at the U-Boot prompt and examine environment variables for NFS-related entries such as 'nfsroot', 'serverip', or boot commands containing 'nfs'. Check boot scripts for NFS mount attempts.
    Affected if Environment variables or boot scripts reference NFS paths (e.g., 'nfsroot=...', 'bootcmd=nfs...') or the device is configured to boot from an NFS share

You are affected if your U-Boot version is 2019.07 or earlier AND the NFS client functionality (CONFIG_CMD_NFS) is enabled in your build configuration or actively used in your boot setup.

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 Das U-Boot to a version newer than 2019.07 where the vulnerability is patched. If updating is not feasible, disable NFS client functionality in U-Boot and restrict network access to bootloader interfaces.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

U-Boot 2019.10 or later stable release

  1. 1. Identify all deployed instances of U-Boot version 2019.07 or earlier
  2. 2. Download U-Boot version 2019.10 or later from the official U-Boot repository (https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot)
  3. 3. Verify the integrity of the downloaded image using published checksums
  4. 4. Build the new U-Boot binary for your specific target platform using the standard build process (make <board>_defconfig && make)
  5. 5. Flash the new U-Boot image to the device's boot media following your hardware-specific procedures
  6. 6. Verify the deployed U-Boot version post-flash using the 'version' command or equivalent
  7. 7. If NFS is not required in your deployment, consider disabling NFS support in the U-Boot configuration to reduce attack surface
Caveat Review board-specific configuration changes between 2019.07 and the target version, as some CONFIG options or default behaviors may have changed

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

Fix this in U Boot Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
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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-2019-14197 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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