CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-13974 — An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel 4.4 through 5.7.1

High CVSS 7.8

An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel 4.4 through 5.7.1. drivers/tty/vt/keyboard.c has an integer overflow if k_ascii is called several times in a row, aka CID-b86dab054059. NOTE: Members in the community argue that the integer overflow does not lead to a security issue in this case.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Published
2020-06-09
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
linux/kernel
Weaknesses
CWE-190

Affected products

  • linux / linux_kernel
  • debian / debian_linux / 9.0
  • canonical / ubuntu_linux / 14.04
  • canonical / ubuntu_linux / 16.04
  • canonical / ubuntu_linux / 18.04
  • canonical / ubuntu_linux / 20.04

Showing 6 representative product identities from 12 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.