CVE-2014-9766 – This CVE describes an integer overflow vulnerab... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2014-9766?

CVE-2014-9766 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). This CVE describes an integer overflow vulnerability in Pixman's create_bits function that allows remote attackers to crash applications or potentially execute arbitrary code by providing large height and stride values. It affects systems using vulnerable versions of Pixman library. The high CVSS score indicates critical severity requiring immediate attention.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes an integer overflow vulnerability in Pixman's create_bits function that allows remote attackers to crash applications or potentially execute arbitrary code by providing large height and stride values. It affects systems using vulnerable versions of Pixman library. The high CVSS score indicates critical severity requiring immediate attention.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Pixman
Applications using Pixman library (e.g., X11, Cairo, GTK+, Qt)

Versions: Pixman versions before 0.32.6

Operating Systems: Linux distributions, Unix-like systems, Systems using X Window System

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Any application that processes images using vulnerable Pixman library is affected. Common in graphical applications and display servers.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation.

🟠

Likely Case

Denial of service through application crashes affecting system availability and stability.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact with proper memory protections (ASLR, DEP) and network segmentation.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Remote exploitation possible without authentication via crafted image data.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Requires attacker access to internal systems or user interaction with malicious content.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires crafting specific image parameters to trigger integer overflow. Public advisories and mailing list discussions contain technical details.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Pixman 0.32.6 and later

Vendor Advisory: http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2918-1

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Pixman package using system package manager. 2. For Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install libpixman-1-0. 3. Restart affected applications or system. 4. Recompile applications if using static linking.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Input validation for image processing

all

Implement size and parameter validation before passing to Pixman functions

Memory protection hardening

linux

Enable ASLR, DEP, and other memory protection mechanisms

sysctl -w kernel.randomize_va_space=2

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Network segmentation to isolate vulnerable systems from untrusted networks
Implement strict input validation and sanitization for image processing applications

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Pixman version: pixman-1 --version or dpkg -l | grep libpixman

Check Version:

pixman-1 --version || dpkg -l | grep libpixman || rpm -qa | grep pixman

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify version is 0.32.6 or higher: pixman-1 --version | grep -q '0.32.[6-9]\|0.3[3-9]\|[1-9][0-9]'

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Application crashes with segmentation faults in pixman functions
Memory allocation failures in image processing

Network Indicators:

Unusual image file transfers to vulnerable systems
Exploit attempts via crafted image data

SIEM Query:

process.name:pixman AND (event.type:crash OR memory.allocation:large)

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2014-9766

CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-189

Published: April 13, 2016

Last Updated: April 12, 2025

🔗 References

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