Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2015-9274 is a HarfBuzz text-shaping flaw that can crash an application when it processes specially malformed font layout data. The public record describes denial of service only, not data theft or code execution. Business urgency depends on whether exposed services process untrusted fonts or documents using HarfBuzz before 1.0.4.
Executive priority
Handle as a targeted availability issue. It is not documented as code execution, but exposed document, font, or web rendering workflows could be crashed by malicious input. Prioritize assets that process untrusted content at scale.
Technical view
HarfBuzz before 1.0.4 mishandles GPOS and GSUB OpenType layout tables, causing an invalid two-byte read and application crash. The CVE references fixes in HarfBuzz source files for GPOS, GSUB, and shared GSUB/GPOS handling. CVSS, CWE, and affected CPE data are not provided in the supplied sources.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most plausible where applications use HarfBuzz before 1.0.4 to process untrusted fonts, documents, webpages, or rendered text. The source bundle does not identify specific affected vendors, packages, operating systems, or downstream products.
Exploitation context
The CVE states remote attackers can cause denial of service. The supplied sources do not show active exploitation, public exploit maturity, KEV listing, or weaponized details. Treat exposure as input-processing risk rather than confirmed campaign activity.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description and upstream commit reference. No CVSS vector, CWE mapping, CPE list, exploit status, or downstream vendor scope is included. Validation should focus on dependency discovery and whether untrusted font-layout data reaches vulnerable HarfBuzz code.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade HarfBuzz to version 1.0.4 or later where it is used.
- Check operating system and application vendor advisories for backported HarfBuzz fixes.
- Reduce processing of untrusted font or document inputs where practical.
- Prioritize internet-facing or automated document-rendering services first.
Validation and detection
- Inventory direct and bundled HarfBuzz versions across applications and containers.
- Confirm no deployed component uses HarfBuzz before 1.0.4.
- Review vendor package changelogs for backported fixes if version numbers differ.
- Check crash telemetry for font or document rendering failures.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2015-9274 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/harfbuzz/harfbuzz/commit/c917965b9e6fe2b21ed6c51559673288fa3af4b7CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.