# CVE-2014-5261: Command injection in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in font size settings, requiring low privileges.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Aug 2014
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2014-5261, GHSA-pf2x-7333-7fw9, UBUNTU-CVE-2014-5261

## What is CVE-2014-5261?

CVE-2014-5261 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Cacti Cacti, published on 22 Aug 2014. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The graph settings script (graph_settings.php) in Cacti 0.8.8b and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in a font size, related to the rrdtool commandline in lib/rrd.php.

Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2014-5261?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cacti Cacti.

## How do I fix CVE-2014-5261?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2014-5261 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-5261 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cacti Cacti

- [CVE-2022-46169](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-46169/): Cacti Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-39893](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-39893/): Cacti: Pre-authentication SQL injection via rfilter RLIKE clause in graph_view.php (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-39938](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-39938/): Cacti: Unauthenticated RCE on Graph Image (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-39955](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-39955/): Cacti has Pre-Authentication SQL Injection via unanchored FILTER_VALIDATE_REGEXP in graph_view.php (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-39361](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39361/): Unauthenticated SQL Injection in graph_view.php in Cacti (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2014-5261 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2014-5261 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Cacti Cacti, published on 22 Aug 2014. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-5261 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cacti Cacti. 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-2014-5261/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-5261/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-5261
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-5261
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2014-5261

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-5261/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.