CVE-2014-2037: Openswan 2.6.40 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and IKE daemon

Routine

MEDIUM 5.0DOWNGRADE

CVE-2014-2037 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 5.0) affecting openswan. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

Openswan 2.6.40 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and IKE daemon restart) via IKEv2 packets that lack expected payloads. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE 2013-6466.

Why this priority

No elevated risk signals yet

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	5.0 (Medium)
EPSS exploit chance	2.4% (top 16%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-20
Published	2014-11-26
Last modified	2026-06-17

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: xelerance

Last updated 2026-06-17 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2014-11-26 15:59 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-17 00:05 UTCUpdated Record last modified

xelerance openswan DOWNGRADE

Affected: 2.6.40

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 2.6.40

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy openswan || rpm -q openswan || openswan --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 2.6.40 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison openswan sudo apt install openswan=<VERSION_BEFORE_2.6.40> sudo apt-mark hold openswan

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list openswan sudo dnf downgrade openswan-<VERSION_BEFORE_2.6.40> sudo dnf versionlock add openswan

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2014-2037?

openswan: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2014-2037 being exploited?

CVE-2014-2037 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2014-2037 affect?

CVE-2014-2037 affects openswan. Severity is medium (CVSS 5.0). Openswan 2.6.40 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and IKE daemon restart) via IKEv2 packets that lack expected payloads. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE 2013

How urgent is CVE-2014-2037?

Priority 39/100. No elevated risk signals yet.

Related CVEs

CVE-2019-10155 LOW 3.1 UPGRADE UPGRADE The Libreswan Project has found a vulnerability in the processing of IKEv1 informational exchange packets whic
CVE-2018-15836 HIGH 7.5 UPGRADE In verify_signed_hash() in lib/liboswkeys/signatures.c in Openswan before 2.6.50.1, the RSA implementation doe
CVE-2013-6466 MEDIUM 5.0 UPGRADE Openswan 2.6.39 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and
CVE-2013-2053 MEDIUM 6.8 UPGRADE Buffer overflow in the atodn function in Openswan before 2.6.39, when Opportunistic Encryption is enabled and
CVE-2011-4073 MEDIUM 4.0 DOWNGRADE Use-after-free vulnerability in the cryptographic helper handler functionality in Openswan 2.3.0 through 2.6.3

References

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