Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2020-14152
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 · uneditedIn IJG JPEG (aka libjpeg) before 9d, jpeg_mem_available() in jmemnobs.c in djpeg does not honor the max_memory_to_use setting, possibly causing excessive memory consumption.
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 confidenceIn IJG JPEG (libjpeg) before version 9, the jpeg_mem_available() function in jmemnobs.c within the djpeg utility fails to respect the max_memory_to_use configuration setting, potentially allowing excessive memory consumption beyond intended limits.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0< 9dCVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed libjpeg versionRun 'dpkg -l | grep -i libjpeg' on Debian systems, or check via package manager (rpm -q, pkg-info, etc.) to determine the installed version of the libjpeg libraryAffected if The installed version is less than 9 (such as 8.x or earlier), or the version cannot be determined from package metadata
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Verify djpeg utility presenceExecute 'which djpeg' or 'dpkg -l | grep -i djpeg' to check if the djpeg utility (part of libjpeg) is installed on the systemAffected if djpeg is installed and linked to a vulnerable libjpeg version (< 9)
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Check for max_memory_to_use configurationSearch for djpeg configuration files, scripts, or command-line usage that specify max_memory_to_use or -maxmemory option. Inspect any application code or scripts that invoke djpeg with memory limitsAffected if max_memory_to_use is configured or set, and the linked libjpeg version is < 9, making the limit potentially ineffective
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Inspect jmemnobs.c for unpatched codeIf source code is available, examine jmemnobs.c in the libjpeg source tree. Check the jpeg_mem_available() function for proper enforcement of the max_memory_to_use limit. Compare against the patched version in libjpeg 9dAffected if The source code shows jpeg_mem_available() does not properly check or honor the max_memory_to_use parameter
The environment is affected if libjpeg version 9 or later is not installed, and djpeg is used with or without max_memory_to_use configuration, as the memory limit will not be properly enforced.
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 data9d
Upgrade to libjpeg version 9 or later to obtain the patched jpeg_mem_available() function that properly honors the max_memory_to_use limit.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,576.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-14152 — 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-2020-14152 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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- 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
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