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U BootApplication · Denx

CVE-2019-14203

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: nfs_mount_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

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the nfs_mount_reply function within Das U-Boot's NFS handler. By sending a specially crafted NFS mount reply response, an attacker could overflow the stack buffer and potentially achieve arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the U-Boot bootloader.

MitigationUpdate Das U-Boot to a version beyond 2019.07 that contains the security patch. If updating is not immediately feasible, disable NFS boot support in U-Boot configuration and restrict network access to trusted sources only.

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 bootloader presence
    Check if the system uses Das U-Boot as its bootloader. This can be verified during boot sequence output, or by checking bootloader binary files (typically named u-boot.bin, u-boot.img, or similar) in boot media or flash storage.
    Affected if The system runs Das U-Boot as its primary bootloader
  2. Determine U-Boot version
    Check the U-Boot version string displayed during boot, or run 'version' or 'printver' command at the U-Boot prompt if accessible. Alternatively, inspect the binary metadata or build artifacts for the version stamp.
    Affected if The installed U-Boot version is 2019.07 or earlier
  3. Verify NFS client support is enabled
    Check the U-Boot configuration (usually found in include/configs/<board>.h or via 'printenv' commands like 'bootp', 'nfs', or check for CONFIG_CMD_NFS or similar NFS-related config options in the build configuration.
    Affected if NFS client support (CONFIG_CMD_NFS or equivalent) is enabled in the U-Boot build configuration
  4. Confirm NFS boot is configured
    Examine U-Boot environment variables for NFS-related boot commands. Look for 'bootcmd' or custom boot scripts that include NFS mount operations, such as 'setenv bootargs ... nfs=...' or direct 'nfs' commands in the boot sequence.
    Affected if The device is configured to boot from an NFS share (the vulnerable code path is exercised during NFS mount reply processing)

A system is affected if it runs U-Boot version 2019.07 or earlier, has NFS client support compiled in, and is configured to perform NFS boot operations, allowing a malicious NFS server to send a crafted mount reply that overflows the stack buffer in the nfs_mount_reply function.

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 beyond 2019.07 that contains the security patch. If updating is not immediately feasible, disable NFS boot support in U-Boot configuration and restrict network access to trusted sources only.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

U-Boot 2019.10 or later

  1. 1. Identify all U-Boot builds in your environment that are version 2019.07 or earlier
  2. 2. Check the U-Boot version in use by examining the bootloader configuration or build system
  3. 3. Obtain a fixed U-Boot release newer than 2019.07 (e.g., 2019.10 or later) from the official U-Boot repository at https://source.denx.de/u-boot/u-boot
  4. 4. Rebuild your U-Boot image using the updated source code or obtain a pre-built binary from your vendor
  5. 5. Flash the updated U-Boot image to affected devices following your standard update procedure
  6. 6. Verify the new version is running correctly post-flash
Caveat Minor: Review any custom NFS configurations or board-specific patches for compatibility with the newer release

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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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-2019-14203 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