CVE-2014-0196: Linux Kernel Race Condition Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 12 May 2023, 3,292 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 20.3%
EPSS score, percentile 97.5 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
CISA deadline 2 Jun 2023. The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.
- Which versions are affected?
Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.
CISA due date for this action: 2 June 2023.
Advisories and patches
- USN-2203-1
- SUSE-SU-2014:0683
- USN-2204-1
- USN-2202-1
- DSA-2928
- USN-2199-1
- USN-2197-1
- RHSA-2014:0512
- DSA-2926
- SUSE-SU-2014:0667
- USN-2198-1
- USN-2200-1
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
- https://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1609.1/02103.html
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-0196
Affected products and versions
The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
Linux Kernel contains a race condition vulnerability within the n_tty_write function that allows local users to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) or gain privileges via read and write operations with long strings.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2014-0196 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 12 May 2023.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 2 Jun 2023.
- The CVE record was published on 7 May 2014, 3,292 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (Medium), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 20.3% (percentile 97.5), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact partial.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Description
The n_tty_write function in drivers/tty/n_tty.c in the Linux kernel through 3.14.3 does not properly manage tty driver access in the "LECHO & !OPOST" case, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and system crash) or gain privileges by triggering a race condition involving read and write operations with long strings.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 7 May 2014 | CVE record published |
| 12 May 2023 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 2 Jun 2023 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 22 Oct 2025 | CVE record last updated |
References
16 more in the CVE record.
More exploited Linux vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-46300: Linux Kernel Missing Initialization of a Variable Vulnerability
- CVE-2025-39682: Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions Vulnerability
- CVE-2025-39964: Linux Kernel Race Condition Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-53266: Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-53362: Linux Kernel Unspecified Vulnerability
- CVE-2022-0995: Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Vulnerability