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Unrated severityNVD Advisory· Published Aug 24, 2015· Updated May 6, 2026

CVE-2014-6272

CVE-2014-6272

Description

Integer overflows in Libevent's evbuffer API allow denial of service via heap overflow or infinite loop if insanely large inputs are passed.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

Integer overflows in Libevent's evbuffer API allow denial of service via heap overflow or infinite loop if insanely large inputs are passed.

Vulnerability

Multiple integer overflow vulnerabilities exist in the evbuffer API of Libevent versions 1.4.x before 1.4.15, 2.0.x before 2.0.22, and 2.1.x before 2.1.5-beta. Specifically, the functions evbuffer_add, evbuffer_expand, and bufferevent_write do not properly validate the size of user-supplied data, allowing an integer overflow when handling “insanely large inputs” [1]. This can lead to a heap-based buffer overflow or an infinite loop, depending on the execution path [1][2].

Exploitation

An attacker does not require prior authentication or special privileges; exploitation depends on passing overly large data to any program that uses the evbuffer API (functions beginning with evbuffer_, bufferevent_, evhttp_, or evrpc_) [1]. The attacker must be able to control the size of data supplied to these functions, typically via network input or file content. By crafting input that exceeds the internal size limit, the integer overflow occurs, resulting in either a heap overflow (potentially corrupting memory) or an infinite loop (causing a denial of service) [1][2].

Impact

Successful exploitation leads to denial of service due to a crash from heap corruption or resource exhaustion from an infinite loop. The advisory notes that other unspecified impacts may be possible, though code execution is not confirmed [1][2]. The scope is limited to programs that process attacker-controlled large inputs through the affected evbuffer functions.

Mitigation

Updates are available for all affected versions: Libevent 1.4.15, 2.0.22, and 2.1.5-beta [1][2]. For example, Slackware provided updated packages for version 2.0.22 in March 2016 [2]. Users should upgrade to the latest patched release. No workaround is documented, but avoiding the use of evbuffer functions with untrusted large inputs reduces risk. This vulnerability is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

References
  1. [Libevent-users] Advisory: integer overflow in evbuffers for Libevent <= 1.4.14b,2.0.21,2.1.4-alpha [CVE-2014-6272]
  2. The Slackware Linux Project: Slackware Security Advisories

AI Insight generated on May 23, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

43
  • Libevent Project/Libevent41 versions
    cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*+ 40 more
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:1.4.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.19:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.0.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:2.1.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • (no CPE)range: >=1.4, <=1.4.15 ; >=2.0, <=2.0.22 ; >=2.1, <2.1.5-beta
  • Debian/Debian Linux
    cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • osv-coords
    pkg:rpm/opensuse/dnscrypt-proxy&distro=openSUSE%20Tumbleweed
    Range: < 2.1.0-1.2

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

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References

4

News mentions

0

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