Cyber Resilience

CVE-2017-14492

Memory Safety in Canonical Ubuntu Linux 14.04 … 17.04

Public PoCHigh EPSSMemory Safety
Published
03 October 2017
Modified
20 April 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.93 99.8th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2017-14492 is a critical-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Heap-based buffer overflow in dnsmasq before 2.78 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or execute arbitrary code via a crafted IPv6 router advertisement request.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
The heap buffer overflow is triggered by a crafted IPv6 router advertisement request sent to dnsmasq, directly enabling remote exploitation of a public-facing DNS/DHCP service.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalationconfidence: MEDIUM
Successful exploitation of the buffer overflow can yield arbitrary code execution, which may be used to escalate privileges on the affected host.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2017-14493Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux
CVE-2013-1690Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux
CVE-2018-7584Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux
CVE-2015-7547Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux
CVE-2016-2108Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop
CVE-2018-17456Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux
CVE-2025-68615Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2018-17480Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2018-17463Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2024-26883Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

canonical
ubuntu linux
14.04, 16.04, 17.04
debian
debian linux
7.0, 7.1, 9.0
redhat
enterprise linux desktop
7.0
redhat
enterprise linux server
7.0
redhat
enterprise linux workstation
7.0
thekelleys
dnsmasq
≤ 2.77

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V17.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-119

Ongoing control assessments and code testing (static/dynamic analysis, fuzzing) surface memory buffer restriction failures, which are then remediated before release.

addresses: CWE-119

Managed runtimes used by platform-independent applications (e.g., JVM, CLR) enforce memory safety, preventing most buffer overflows that require direct memory manipulation.

addresses: CWE-119

Memory protections (e.g., W^X, ASLR) make exploitation of buffer-boundary violations far harder to turn into code execution.

addresses: CWE-119

Detects exploitation attempts that produce memory corruption, crashes, or anomalous behavior.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.

References