CRITICAL
CVE-2014-9488
CWE-119Published: April 14, 2015· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
10.0
CVSS v3.1
Official Description
The is_utf8_well_formed function in GNU less before 475 allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via malformed UTF-8 characters, which triggers an out-of-bounds read.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2014-9488 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
Exploitation requires some privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-119): Buffer overflow vulnerabilities can lead to arbitrary code execution or denial of service by corrupting adjacent memory.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.
User Interaction
Scope
Impact
ConfidentialityC
IntegrityC
AvailabilityC
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
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All References (10)
Quick Facts
CVE IDCVE-2014-9488
CVSS Score10.0 / 10
SeverityCRITICAL
WeaknessCWE-119
CISA KEVNo
Affected2 vendor(s)
PublishedApr 14, 2015
Related CVEs (CWE-119)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2014-9488 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.