# CVE-2014-3504: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Man-in-the-middle attackers can spoof SSL servers by exploiting improper NUL byte handling in certificate Common Name fields.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.0 (`AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 Aug 2014
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2014-3504, GHSA-4425-mwr9-99xc, MGASA-2014-0353, UBUNTU-CVE-2014-3504, USN-2315-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:10569-1

## What is CVE-2014-3504?

CVE-2014-3504 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 19 Aug 2014. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The (1) serf_ssl_cert_issuer, (2) serf_ssl_cert_subject, and (3) serf_ssl_cert_certificate functions in Serf 0.2.0 through 1.3.x before 1.3.7 does not properly handle a NUL byte in a domain name in the subject's Common Name (CN) field of an X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof arbitrary SSL servers via a crafted certificate issued by a legitimate Certification Authority.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2014-3504?

It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `libserf` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.3.9-1.2 |

Products: Apache Subversion, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Serf Project Serf.

## How do I fix CVE-2014-3504?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2014-3504 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-3504 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2017-9800](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9800/): A maliciously constructed svn+ssh:// URL would cause Subversion clients before 1.8.19, 1.9.x before 1.9.7, and 1.10.0.x through 1.10.0-alpha (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2013-4246](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4246/): Denial of service in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2015-5259](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5259/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2024-45720](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-45720/): Apache Subversion: Command line argument injection on Windows platforms (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2015-0202](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-0202/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2014-3504 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2014-3504 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 19 Aug 2014. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-3504 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. 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-2014-3504/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3504/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-3504
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3504
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2014-3504

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3504/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.