CVE-2014-7970

Name: CVE-2014-7970
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2014-10-13T10:55:08.497+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.67%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2014-7970 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. The pivot_root implementation in fs/namespace.c in the Linux kernel through 3.17 does not properly interact with certain locations of a chroot directory, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (mount-tree loop) via . (dot) values in both arguments to the pivot_root system call.. EPSS estimates a 0.67% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

The pivot_root implementation in fs/namespace.c in the Linux kernel through 3.17 does not properly interact with certain locations of a chroot directory, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (mount-tree loop) via . (dot) values in both arguments to the pivot_root system call.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.67%

47.3th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-400

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
Novell	Suse Linux Enterprise Server	11.0	Sp3
Linux	Linux Kernel	<= 3.17	—
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	12.04	—
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	14.04	—

References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2015-04/msg00015.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/60174Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/61142Broken Link
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/10/08/21Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/70319Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1030991Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-fsdevel/msg79153.htmlExploit, Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2419-1Third Party Advisory
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2420-1Third Party Advisory
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2513-1Third Party Advisory
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2514-1Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1842Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2077Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1151095Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/96921Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=0d0826019e529f21c84687521d03f60cd241ca7dMailing List, Patch, Vendor Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2015-04/msg00015.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/60174Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/61142Broken Link
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/10/08/21Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/70319Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1030991Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-fsdevel/msg79153.htmlExploit, Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2419-1Third Party Advisory
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2420-1Third Party Advisory
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2513-1Third Party Advisory
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2514-1Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1842Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2077Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1151095Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/96921Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=0d0826019e529f21c84687521d03f60cd241ca7dMailing List, Patch, Vendor Advisory

Timeline

Published: Oct 13, 2014
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2014-7970?

How severe is CVE-2014-7970?

CVE-2014-7970 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.67% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2014-7970?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2014-7970?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST