# CVE-2014-5045: Use after free in n/a

> Local attackers can trigger a use-after-free in the Linux kernel via umount and symlinks, causing denial of service or potential code execution.

- **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:** 1 Aug 2014
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2014-5045, GHSA-9pvv-pv37-92f4, UBUNTU-CVE-2014-5045

## What is CVE-2014-5045?

CVE-2014-5045 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Aug 2014. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The mountpoint_last function in fs/namei.c in the Linux kernel before 3.15.8 does not properly maintain a certain reference count during attempts to use the umount system call in conjunction with a symlink, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory consumption or use-after-free) or possibly have unspecified other impact via the umount program.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2014-5045?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Linux kernel, Redhat Enterprise Linux Eus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Aus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Tus.

## How do I fix CVE-2014-5045?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2014-5045 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-5045 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2014-5045 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2014-5045 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Aug 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-2014-5045 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2014-5045/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-5045/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-5045
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-5045
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2014-5045

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-5045/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.