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U BootApplication · Denx

CVE-2019-14200

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 a stack-based buffer overflow in this nfs_handler reply helper function: rpc_lookup_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 · high confidence

A stack-based buffer overflow exists in Das U-Boot's NFS handler reply helper function (rpc_lookup_reply). The vulnerability allows an attacker to overflow a stack-allocated buffer by sending a malicious NFS reply, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the U-Boot bootloader.

MitigationUpgrade U-Boot to a version beyond 2019.07 that contains the security patch. If immediate patching is not feasible, disable NFS boot functionality in U-Boot and isolate affected devices on network segments to reduce exposure.

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 U-Boot version
    At the U-Boot console, run the 'version' command to display the installed U-Boot version. Alternatively, inspect the U-Boot binary file and check the embedded version string.
    Affected if The displayed version is 2019.07 or earlier.
  2. Verify NFS command support is compiled in
    Run the 'help' command at the U-Boot console and look for 'nfs' in the list of available commands. If not available in console, examine the U-Boot build configuration (.config file) for CONFIG_CMD_NFS or CONFIG_NFS (or similar NFS-related CONFIG options).
    Affected if The NFS command is listed as available in 'help' or CONFIG_CMD_NFS is set in the build configuration.
  3. Check NFS boot configuration in environment
    At the U-Boot console, run 'printenv' and examine the boot variables (such as bootcmd, nfsboot, or custom boot scripts) for NFS-related entries. Look for the 'nfs' command or NFS server IP variables (like serverip, nfsroot).
    Affected if The boot environment contains NFS boot configuration or variables pointing to an NFS server.
  4. Confirm NFS functionality is active
    If 'help' shows NFS support but no boot configuration uses it, verify whether the NFS handler would be invoked by examining if the device attempts NFS mounts or if 'rpc_lookup_reply' code is present in the binary.
    Affected if The device has NFS compiled in and is configured or could be configured to boot from NFS.

You are affected if your U-Boot version is 2019.07 or earlier AND NFS support is compiled into your build AND NFS boot functionality is available or configured on the device.

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

Upgrade U-Boot to a version beyond 2019.07 that contains the security patch. If immediate patching is not feasible, disable NFS boot functionality in U-Boot and isolate affected devices on network segments to reduce exposure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

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

  1. Upgrade U-Boot to a version newer than 2019.07 to address the stack-based buffer overflow in rpc_lookup_reply
  2. If upgrading is not immediately possible, disable NFS handler functionality if not required in the production environment
  3. Review and implement compiler-based buffer overflow protections such as stack canaries and FORTIFY_SOURCE if supported by the toolchain
  4. Apply any vendor-specific patches if using a forked or distribution-provided version of U-Boot
Caveat Review release notes for potential configuration or behavior changes between 2019.07 and the target upgrade version

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

Fix this in U Boot Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2019-14200 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