CVE-2014-4616

Exp

Array index error in the scanstring function in the _json module in Python 2.7 through 3.5 and simplejson before 2.6.1 allows context-dependent attackers to read arbitrary process memory via a negative index value in the idx argument to the raw_decode function.

Published: 2017-08-24 Last update: 2026-05-13 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2014-4616 is rated Exploit Available (59.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.38%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2014-4616

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2014-4616

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-01 0.56% 0.38% -0.18%
2 2026-03-04 0.92% 0.56% -0.36%
3 2026-03-01 — 0.92% —

Full EPSS history (40 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2014-4616

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.2 3.6 [email protected]
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
 8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2014-4616

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2014-4616

GHSA-9772-cwx9-r4cj · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: pip — simplejson before 2.6.1 vulnerable to array index error

OS Trackers for CVE-2014-4616

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2014-4616 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (python2.7), 1 status rows across 1 suites (bullseye): resolved 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2014-4616
gentoo normal CVE-2014-4616: 1 GLSA(s) (201503-10), 1 atom(s) (dev-lang/python); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2014-4616
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-4616
ubuntu low CVE-2014-4616 low priority: Ubuntu including 3 source packages (python2.7, python3.2, python3.4), 21 status rows across 7 suites (lucid, precise, saucy, trusty, upstream, utopic, vivid): DNE 9, not-affected 5, released 5, ignored 1, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2014-4616

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2014-4616

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
python python >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.7 cpe:2.3:a:python:python:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
python python >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.6 cpe:2.3:a:python:python:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
python python >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.6 cpe:2.3:a:python:python:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
python python >= 3.4.0, < 3.4.1 cpe:2.3:a:python:python:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
simplejson_project simplejson < 2.6.1 cpe:2.3:a:simplejson_project:simplejson:*:*:*:*:*:python:*:*
opensuse opensuse 13.1 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:13.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse_project opensuse 12.3 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse_project:opensuse:12.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2014-4616

URL Tags
http://bugs.python.org/issue21529 Issue Tracking Vendor Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2014-07/msg00015.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/06/24/7 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1064.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/68119 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=752395 Issue Tracking Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1112285 Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory
https://hackerone.com/reports/12297 Exploit Patch Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201503-10 Patch Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
cvelogic Threat Intelligence