softmagic.c in file before 5.21 does not properly limit recursion, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption or crash) via unspecified vectors.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2014-8117 is rated Moderate Risk (58.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 16.45%, 95th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +6.40% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.
Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.
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 | 2025-12-28 | 10.06% | 16.45% | +6.40% |
| 2 | 2025-12-27 | 16.45% | 10.06% | -6.40% |
| 3 | 2025-12-01 | — | 16.45% | — |
Full EPSS history (15 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | 2.0 | MEDIUM |
|
10.0 | 2.9 | [email protected] |
| vendor | priority | summary | link |
|---|---|---|---|
debian
|
low | CVE-2014-8117 low priority: Debian including 1 source packages (file), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. | https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2014-8117 |
gentoo
|
normal | CVE-2014-8117: 1 GLSA(s) (201412-48), 1 atom(s) (sys-apps/file); latest impact normal. | https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2014-8117 |
redhat
|
medium | — | https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-8117 |
suse
|
medium | CVE-2014-8117 severity moderate: SUSE including 106 source package names (0.9.1:file-5.22-10.3.1, 0.9.1:file-magic-5.22-10.3.1, …), 291 product×package rows across 88 product lines (Container caasp/v4/default-http-backend, Container caasp/v4/dnsmasq-nanny, … (88 product lines)): Fixed 283, Known Not Affected 8. | https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-8117/ |
ubuntu
|
low | CVE-2014-8117 low priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (file, php5), 10 status rows across 5 suites (lucid, precise, trusty, upstream, utopic): released 8, needs-triage 2. | https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2014-8117 |
| Vendor | Product | Version | Raw CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| file_project | file | <= 5.20 | cpe:2.3:a:file_project:file:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| freebsd | freebsd | — | cpe:2.3:o:freebsd:freebsd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| mageia | mageia | 4.0 | cpe:2.3:o:mageia:mageia:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | 10.04 | cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:10.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* |
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | 12.04 | cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* |
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | 14.04 | cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* |
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | 14.10 | cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2015-0040.html | Third Party Advisory |
| http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-0760.html | |
| http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2014/q4/1056 | Mailing List Third Party Advisory |
| http://secunia.com/advisories/61944 | |
| http://secunia.com/advisories/62081 | |
| http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/linuxbulletinapr2016-2952096.html | |
| http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/linuxbulletinoct2015-2719645.html | |
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/71692 | |
| http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1031344 | Third Party Advisory VDB Entry |
| http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2494-1 | Third Party Advisory |
| http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2535-1 | Third Party Advisory |
| https://github.com/file/file/blob/00cef282a902a4a6709bbbbb933ee397768caa38/ChangeLog | Issue Tracking Patch |
| https://github.com/file/file/commit/6f737ddfadb596d7d4a993f7ed2141ffd664a81c | Issue Tracking Patch |
| https://www.freebsd.org/security/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-14:28.file.asc | Vendor Advisory |