# CVE-2014-8686: Weak cryptography in n/a

> Attackers can decode session cookies due to weak XOR encryption fallback when Mcrypt is unavailable, compromising session integrity.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 19 Sep 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xrhp-vgm2-2xvr

## What is CVE-2014-8686?

CVE-2014-8686 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Sep 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

CodeIgniter before 2.2.0 makes it easier for attackers to decode session cookies by leveraging fallback to a custom XOR-based encryption scheme when the Mcrypt extension for PHP is not available.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2014-8686?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Codeigniter Codeigniter.

## How do I fix CVE-2014-8686?

No fix has been published for CVE-2014-8686 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2014-8686 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2014-8686 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Seagate Business NAS Unauthenticated Remote Command Execution (metasploit)
- Seagate Business NAS - Remote Command Execution (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2025-54418](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-54418/): CodeIgniter4's ImageMagick Handler has Command Injection Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-32692](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-32692/): Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in Validation Placeholders (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-40824](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40824/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-40825](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40825/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-40826](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40826/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2014-8686 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2014-8686 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Sep 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2014-8686 exists.

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-2014-8686/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-8686/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-8686
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-8686
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2014-8686

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-8686/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.