CVE-2014-0196 — Linux Kernel Race Condition Vulnerability
The n_tty_write function in drivers/tty/n_tty.c in the Linux kernel through 3.14.3 does not properly manage tty driver access in the "LECHO & !OPOST" case, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and system crash) or gain privileges by triggering a race condition involving read and write operations with long strings.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
- Public exploit/PoC (exploitdb)+8
- EPSS 22.5% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
- Technical severity (medium)+3
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented patch — bugzilla.redhat.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
CISA required action CISA
The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.
US federal deadline: Jun 2, 2023 — passed 1231 day(s) ago
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, F5 Big-ip Access Policy Manager…).
- Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
- Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
- EPSS ahead of 98% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (logic error), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canonical | Ubuntu Linux | version 10.04version 12.04version 12.10version 13.10version 14.04 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Debian | Debian Linux | version 6.0version 7.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Access Policy Manager | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Advanced Firewall Manager | ≥ 11.3.0 and ≤ 11.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Analytics | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Application Acceleration Manager | ≥ 11.4.0 and ≤ 11.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Application Security Manager | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Edge Gateway | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.3.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Global Traffic Manager | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Link Controller | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Local Traffic Manager | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Policy Enforcement Manager | ≥ 11.3.0 and ≤ 11.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Protocol Security Module | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.4.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Wan Optimization Manager | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.3.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-ip Webaccelerator | ≥ 11.1.0 and ≤ 11.3.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-iq Application Delivery Controller | version 4.5.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-iq Centralized Management | version 4.6.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-iq Cloud | ≥ 4.0.0 and ≤ 4.5.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-iq Cloud And Orchestration | version 1.0.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-iq Device | ≥ 4.2.0 and ≤ 4.5.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Big-iq Security | ≥ 4.0.0 and ≤ 4.5.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| F5 | Enterprise Manager | version 3.1.0version 3.1.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Linux | Linux Kernel |
version 2.6.31-rc3> 2.6.31 and < 3.2.59≥ 3.3 and < 3.4.91≥ 3.5 and < 3.10.40≥ 3.11 and < 3.12.20≥ 3.13 and < 3.14.4version 2.6.31-rc9version 2.6.31-rc8 and 5 moreversion 2.6.31-rc7version 2.6.31-rc6version 2.6.31-rc5version 2.6.31-rc4version 2.6.31 |
Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Oracle | Linux | version 6 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Red Hat | Enterprise Linux | version 6.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Red Hat | Enterprise Linux Eus | version 6.4version 6.3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Red Hat | Enterprise Linux Server Eus | version 6.3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| SUSE | Linux Enterprise Desktop | version 11-sp3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| SUSE | Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension | version 11-sp3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| SUSE | Linux Enterprise Server | version 11-sp3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | 1.8 | 3.6 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 5.5 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | — | — | GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories |
| 5.5 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | — | — | CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 6.9 | CVSS 2.0 | Medium | 3.4 | 10.0 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
CISA KEV details CISA
CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.
CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.
Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates
Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.
Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 12, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 22.48%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Hunt retroactively in logs from before May 12, 2023 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Fix documented
- Affected products added · linux/linux kernel, debian/debian linux, redhat/enterprise linux, redhat/enterprise linux eus, redhat/enterprise linux s
- CVSS changed · 5.5
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Added to CISA KEV (detected)
- Record created in this database
- 2023
- Added to CISA KEV catalog
- 2014
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
32 on the record
- github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/4291086b1f081b869c6d79e5b7441633dc3ace00
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/05/05/6
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2199-1
- secunia.com/advisories/59218
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2198-1
- secunia.com/advisories/59262
- www.debian.org/security/2014/dsa-2928
- source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-07-01.html
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2196-1
- git.kernel.org/
- www.exploit-db.com/exploits/33516
- linux.oracle.com/errata/ELSA-2014-0771.html
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2201-1
- bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2203-1
- pastebin.com/raw.php
- support.f5.com/kb/en-us/solutions/public/15000/300/sol15319.html
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-xwpg-vm43-3qwm
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2014-05/msg00007.html
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2202-1
- secunia.com/advisories/59599
- git.kernel.org/
- rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014-0512.html
- www.osvdb.org/106646
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2197-1
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2014-05/msg00012.html
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2204-1
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2200-1
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-0196
- www.debian.org/security/2014/dsa-2926
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-104045 Sssd: sssd: denial of service via race condition in autofs responder 9d
- Medium CVE-2026-104046 Sssd: sssd: denial of service via incomplete identity provider authentication requests 9d
- High CVE-2026-104048 Sssd: sssd: authorization bypass via cross-domain username collision in hbac evaluation 9d
- Medium CVE-2026-104047 Sssd: sssd: information disclosure via query injection in entra id lookups 9d
- High CVE-2026-102558 Libsoup: libsoup: heap buffer overflow during websocket receive-buffer growth 16d
- High CVE-2026-102555 Libsoup: libsoup: heap buffer overflow via uninitialized length in data-uri base64 decoding 16d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2014-0196 is "Linux Kernel Race Condition Vulnerability", rated Medium. It affects Ubuntu Linux (Canonical); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 22.48% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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