X.org X11 5.0 SUN-DES-1 null pointer dereference

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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4.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in X.org X11 5.0 and classified as problematic. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the component SUN-DES-1 Handler. Performing a manipulation results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2014-8091. There is no exploit available. This vulnerability is considered historic because of its background and reception. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in X.org X11 5.0 (Windowing System Software). It has been classified as problematic. This affects an unknown part of the component SUN-DES-1 Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. This is going to have an impact on availability.

The issue has been introduced in 08/29/1991. The weakness was shared 12/09/2014 by Ilja van Sprundel with IOActive as Advisory-2014-12-09 as confirmed advisory (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at x.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2014-8091 since 10/10/2014. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/29/2025). Due to its background and reception, this vulnerability has a historic impact. The advisory points out:

In servers built with support for SUN-DES-1 (Secure RPC) authentication credentials, an unauthenticated client may be able to crash the X server by sending a connection request specifying values that cause malloc to fail, causing the authentication routines to attempt to write data to the returned NULL pointer. Since the request is limited to an unsigned 16-bit integer for the allocation size, it is unlikely to fail unless the server is severely memory constrained.

The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 8503 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $0-$5k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 80547 (SuSE 11.3 Security Update : xorg-x11-server (SAT Patch Number 10108)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family SuSE Local Security Checks. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 350232 (Amazon Linux Security Advisory for xorg-x11-server: ALAS-2015-470).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (99217), Tenable (80547), SecurityFocus (BID 64127†), Secunia (SA62292†) and SecurityTracker (ID 1031326†). Further details are available at seclists.org. The entries VDB-68380, VDB-66111, VDB-73184 and VDB-73183 are related to this item. Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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CVSSv4info

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CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.6

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
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Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Unproven

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Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 80547
Nessus Name: SuSE 11.3 Security Update : xorg-x11-server (SAT Patch Number 10108)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Port: 🔍

OpenVAS ID: 703095
OpenVAS Name: Debian Security Advisory DSA 3095-1 (xorg-server - security update)
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
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Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
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Timelineinfo

08/29/1991 🔍
12/06/2013 +8135 days 🔍
10/10/2014 +308 days 🔍
12/09/2014 +60 days 🔍
12/09/2014 +0 days 🔍
12/10/2014 +1 days 🔍
12/10/2014 +0 days 🔍
12/11/2014 +1 days 🔍
01/15/2015 +35 days 🔍
07/14/2015 +180 days 🔍
07/16/2015 +2 days 🔍
08/29/2025 +3697 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: x.org

Advisory: Advisory-2014-12-09
Researcher: Ilja van Sprundel
Organization: IOActive
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2014-8091 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2014-8091
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-68379

OVAL: 🔍

X-Force: 99217 - X server NULL pointer denial of service, Medium Risk
SecurityFocus: 64127 - X.Org X Server CVE-2013-6424 Local Denial of Service Vulnerability
Secunia: 62292
SecurityTracker: 1031326 - X Multiple Memory Corruption Flaws Let Remote Users Deny Service and Execute Arbitrary Code
Vulnerability Center: 51358 - X.Org X Window System (X11) X11R5 and X.Org Server <1.16.3 Remote DoS via a Crafted Request - CVE-2014-8091, Medium

Misc.: 🔍
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Entryinfo

Created: 12/11/2014 09:23
Updated: 08/29/2025 15:49
Changes: 12/11/2014 09:23 (87), 07/13/2017 10:39 (5), 02/28/2022 02:35 (3), 02/28/2022 02:43 (1), 08/29/2025 15:49 (15)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216:F3C:103

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