CVE-2014-9940 [High] | Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel

CVE-2014-9940 is rated Moderate Risk (54.9/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.60%). EPSS rose +1.48% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.11%	1.60%	+1.48%
2	2025-06-21	0.18%	0.11%	-0.07%
3	2025-03-30	—	0.18%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.11%

1.60%

+1.48%

2025-06-21

0.18%

0.11%

-0.07%

2025-03-30

—

0.18%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.0	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. 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:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. 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:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.0	5.9	[email protected]
7.6	2.0	HIGH	`AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:H) Exploitation requires uncommon or highly specific conditions. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:C) Complete confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:C) Complete integrity impact. Availability impact (A:C) Complete availability impact.	4.9	10.0	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.0

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.0

5.9

[email protected]

7.6

2.0

HIGH

AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:H): Exploitation requires uncommon or highly specific conditions.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C): Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C): Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C): Complete availability impact.

4.9

10.0

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2014-9940

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	low	CVE-2014-9940 low priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2014-9940
`redhat`	low	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-9940
`ubuntu`	low	CVE-2014-9940 low priority: Ubuntu including 101 source packages (linux, linux-armadaxp, …), 848 status rows across 12 suites (artful, bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, precise, trusty, upstream, xenial, yakkety, zesty): DNE 574, not-affected 140, released 102, ignored 32.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2014-9940

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2014-9940

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	> 3.10, < 3.16.45	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 3.17, < 3.18.52	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	3.10	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.10:-::::::
linux	linux_kernel	3.10	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.10:rc1::::::
linux	linux_kernel	3.10	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.10:rc2::::::
linux	linux_kernel	3.10	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.10:rc3::::::
linux	linux_kernel	3.10	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.10:rc4::::::
linux	linux_kernel	3.10	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.10:rc5::::::
linux	linux_kernel	3.10	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.10:rc6::::::
linux	linux_kernel	3.10	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:3.10:rc7::::::
google	android	<= 7.1.1	cpe:2.3:o:google:android::::::::

References for CVE-2014-9940

URL	Tags
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=60a2362f769cf549dc466134efe71c8bf9fbaaba	Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory
http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3945	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98195	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/60a2362f769cf549dc466134efe71c8bf9fbaaba	Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory
https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-05-01	Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2014-9940

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2014-9940

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2014-9940

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2014-9940

OS Trackers for CVE-2014-9940

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2014-9940

References for CVE-2014-9940