# CVE-2014-3686: Command injection in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary commands on systems running wpa_supplicant or hostapd with specific action script configurations via crafted frames.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Oct 2014
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2014-3686, DLA-147-1, DSA-3052-1, GHSA-mvf7-8vcg-m9vv, MGASA-2014-0429, RHSA-2014:1956, UBUNTU-CVE-2014-3686, USN-2383-1

## What is CVE-2014-3686?

CVE-2014-3686 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 16 Oct 2014. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

wpa_supplicant and hostapd 0.7.2 through 2.2, when running with certain configurations and using wpa_cli or hostapd_cli with action scripts, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted frame.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2014-3686?

It affects 4 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `wpa_supplicant` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 1:2.0-13.el7_0 |
| `wpa_supplicant-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 1:2.0-13.el7_0 |
| `wpa_supplicant` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 1:2.0-13.el7_0 |
| `wpa_supplicant-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 1:2.0-13.el7_0 |
| `wpa_supplicant` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 1:2.0-13.el7_0 |
| `wpa_supplicant-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 1:2.0-13.el7_0 |
| `wpa_supplicant` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 1:2.0-13.el7_0 |
| `wpa_supplicant-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 1:2.0-13.el7_0 |

Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, W1.fi Hostapd, W1.fi Wpa Supplicant.

## How do I fix CVE-2014-3686?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2014-3686 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-3686 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2014-3686 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2014-3686 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 16 Oct 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-2014-3686 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-2014-3686/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3686/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-3686
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3686
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2014-3686

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3686/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.