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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2019-14897

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-11-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.16.83 / 4.4.212 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
A stack-based buffer overflow was found in the Linux kernel, version kernel-2.6.32, in Marvell WiFi chip driver. An attacker is able to cause a denial of service (system crash) or, possibly execute arbitrary code, when a STA works in IBSS mode (allows connecting stations together without the use of an AP) and connects to another STA.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-121

Data overflows a fixed-size buffer allocated on the stack, overwriting adjacent stack memory — including saved return addresses — which is the classic route to redirecting execution into attacker-supplied code. Crafted input is all it takes. Remediation is strict length checks, safe bounded string and memory functions, and modern stack-protection mitigations.

General guidance for the stack-based buffer overflow class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 2.6.32, < 3.16.83>= 3.17, < 4.4.212>= 4.5, < 4.9.212>= 4.10, < 4.14.169>= 4.15, < 4.19.100>= 4.20, < 5.4.16
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 14.04= 16.04= 18.04= 19.10

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:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 3.16.83 / 4.4.212 / 4.9.212 or later
Fixed in 3.16.834.4.2124.9.212
Vendor patch bugzilla.redhat.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel 3.16.83, 4.4.212, 4.9.212, or 4.14.169 (or later) depending on which branch is in use

  1. 1. Identify current kernel version using `uname -r` to confirm if system is vulnerable
  2. 2. For Debian 8.0 (Jessie): Upgrade to a newer Debian release as Debian 8 is end-of-life; Debian 8 no longer receives security updates
  3. 3. For Ubuntu 14.04/16.04: These versions are end-of-life; upgrade to a supported Ubuntu release (18.04 LTS or 20.04 LTS)
  4. 4. For Ubuntu 18.04: Apply all pending security updates via `apt update && apt upgrade` or install Ubuntu HWE kernel updates
  5. 5. For Ubuntu 19.10: Apply all pending security updates via `apt update && apt upgrade`
  6. 6. For upstream Linux kernel: Upgrade to kernel version 3.16.83 or later (for 3.x), 4.4.212 or later (for 4.4.x), 4.9.212 or later (for 4.9.x), or 4.14.169 or later (for 4.14.x)
  7. 7. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  8. 8. Verify the fix by checking `uname -r` shows a patched version and confirm the CVE is resolved via `grep -i cve /var/log/dpkg.log` or distribution security notices
Caveat Upgrading kernel may require reboot and could cause compatibility issues with proprietary kernel modules or custom drivers; some older distributions (Debian 8, Ubuntu 14.04/16.04) require full OS upgrade to supported release

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,300. 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-2019-14897 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
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