CVE-2014-2270: softmagic.c in file before 5.17 and libmagic allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of servic...

Security readout for executives and security teams

This is a crash flaw in file/libmagic, software commonly used to identify file types. A crafted PE executable can make the parser read outside expected memory and crash. Business impact is mainly service interruption where systems scan untrusted uploaded or received files. Exposure is most likely on servers, desktop tools, or language runtimes that invoke file/libmagic against untrusted files, especially upload scanners, mail gateways, malware triage tools, and PHP integrations using bundled or linked libmagic. Treat as a routine patching item unless untrusted file analysis is business-critical. Prioritize externally reachable upload, mail, or scanning services because a crash can interrupt workflows but sources do not support data theft or code execution. Mitigation focus: Update file/libmagic to version 5.17 or a vendor-patched package.; Apply relevant OS vendor advisories for Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat, SUSE, Gentoo, or Apple systems.; Identify applications bundling or linking libmagic and update those packages too..

Prepared

Jun 14, 2026, 14:32 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.