CVE-2014-0004 in udisks
Summary
by MITRE
Stack-based buffer overflow in udisks before 1.0.5 and 2.x before 2.1.3 allows local users to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long mount point.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/07/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0004 represents a critical stack-based buffer overflow flaw within the udisks software component, affecting versions prior to 1.0.5 and 2.x versions before 2.1.3. This issue resides in the handling of mount point parameters, where the software fails to properly validate input length before processing potentially maliciously crafted long mount point strings. The udisks daemon serves as a crucial system component responsible for managing storage devices and file systems, making it a prime target for exploitation due to its privileged execution context and direct interaction with system storage subsystems.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a stack-based buffer overflow condition that arises when the software attempts to store a mount point string in a fixed-size stack buffer without adequate bounds checking. When a local attacker provides a mount point string exceeding the allocated buffer space, the excess data overflows into adjacent stack memory locations, potentially corrupting critical program state information including return addresses and function parameters. This overflow condition can result in immediate program termination through segmentation faults or, in more sophisticated exploitation scenarios, allow attackers to manipulate the program execution flow to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the udisks process.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially enable privilege escalation attacks. Since udisks typically operates with elevated privileges to manage storage devices and file systems, successful exploitation could allow local users to execute code with system-level privileges, compromising the integrity and confidentiality of the affected system. The vulnerability affects systems where udisks is actively used for storage management, particularly those running older versions of the software where the buffer overflow protection mechanisms were insufficient. This issue is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where storage management services are frequently accessed and where the udisks daemon may be exposed to untrusted input from local users.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-0004 primarily focus on immediate software updates to versions 1.0.5 or 2.1.3 and later, which contain proper input validation and buffer boundary checking mechanisms. System administrators should also implement additional security controls including privilege separation for storage management services, regular security auditing of udisks configuration, and monitoring for unusual mount point access patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121 stack-based buffer overflow classification and represents a typical attack vector categorized under ATT&CK technique T1068 for privilege escalation through local service manipulation. Organizations should also consider implementing mandatory access controls and runtime protection mechanisms to limit the impact of potential exploitation attempts, while maintaining comprehensive logging of storage management activities to detect unauthorized access patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts.