# CVE-2014-0240: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges in Apache mod_wsgi daemon mode due to improper setuid error handling on certain Linux kernels.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.2 (`AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 May 2014
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2014-0240, GHSA-p3r2-mvh7-9pcc, RHSA-2014:0789, RHSA-2014:1091, UBUNTU-CVE-2014-0240, openSUSE-SU-2024:10457-1

## What is CVE-2014-0240?

CVE-2014-0240 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 27 May 2014. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The mod_wsgi module before 3.5 for Apache, when daemon mode is enabled, does not properly handle error codes returned by setuid when run on certain Linux kernels, which allows local users to gain privileges via vectors related to the number of running processes.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2014-0240?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `mod_wsgi` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el7_0 |
| `mod_wsgi-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el7_0 |
| `mod_wsgi` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el7_0 |
| `mod_wsgi-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el7_0 |
| `mod_wsgi` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el7_0 |
| `mod_wsgi-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el7_0 |
| `mod_wsgi` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el7_0 |
| `mod_wsgi-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el7_0 |
| `python27-mod_wsgi` | Red Hat:rhel_software_collections:1::el6 | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el6 |
| `python27-mod_wsgi-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_software_collections:1::el6 | All versions | 0:3.4-12.el6 |
| `python33-mod_wsgi` | Red Hat:rhel_software_collections:1::el6 | All versions | 0:3.4-14.el6 |
| `python33-mod_wsgi-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_software_collections:1::el6 | All versions | 0:3.4-14.el6 |
| `python27-mod_wsgi` | Red Hat:rhel_software_collections:1::el7 | All versions | 0:3.4-13.el7 |
| `python27-mod_wsgi-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_software_collections:1::el7 | All versions | 0:3.4-13.el7 |
| `python33-mod_wsgi` | Red Hat:rhel_software_collections:1::el7 | All versions | 0:3.4-13.el7 |
| `python33-mod_wsgi-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_software_collections:1::el7 | All versions | 0:3.4-13.el7 |

Products: Modwsgi Mod Wsgi.

## How do I fix CVE-2014-0240?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2014-0240 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-0240 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2014-0242](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0242/): Use after free in mod wsgi (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2014-8583](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-8583/): Privilege escalation in n/a (medium 6.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2014-0240 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2014-0240 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 27 May 2014. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-0240 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0240/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0240/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-0240
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-0240
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2014-0240

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0240/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.