CVE-2019-14865
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 · uneditedA flaw was found in the grub2-set-bootflag utility of grub2. A local attacker could run this utility under resource pressure (for example by setting RLIMIT), causing grub2 configuration files to be truncated and leaving the system unbootable on subsequent reboots.
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 confidenceThe grub2-set-bootflag utility fails to properly handle resource limits when invoked under constrained conditions (e.g., via RLIMIT). A local attacker can trigger truncation of critical grub2 configuration files (likely /boot/grub2/grub.cfg or related files), which renders the system unbootable after reboot.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/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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Verify grub2-set-bootflag utility existsRun: which grub2-set-bootflag or ls -la /usr/sbin/grub2-set-bootflagAffected if The utility is present on the system (all versions are affected)
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Check installed grub2 versionRun: rpm -q grub2 or grub2-install --versionAffected if Any version of grub2 is installed (the vulnerability affects all versions)
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Inspect grub configuration file integrityRun: ls -la /boot/grub2/grub.cfg and check file size; run: wc -l /boot/grub2/grub.cfg to verify line count is reasonableAffected if The grub.cfg file is missing, truncated, or has an unusually small file size compared to expected configuration
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Check for recent unauthorized modifications to boot configurationReview logs in /var/log/ for commands modifying grub configuration; run: stat /boot/grub2/grub.cfg to check modification timestampsAffected if Boot configuration files were modified around the time of a potential attack
If grub2-set-bootflag is present and the system uses grub2 for booting, the environment is vulnerable since all versions are affected; check grub.cfg integrity to determine if exploitation may have occurred.
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 dataApply the upstream grub2 security patch when available. Consider restricting local shell access and monitoring for unusual RLIMIT configurations on privileged utilities.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-14865 — 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-2019-14865 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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