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Vulnerability record · CVE-2014-9016 · published 24 November 2014

CVE-2014-9016: Drupal password hashing API denial of service via crafted request

DDrupal · Drupal

The password hashing API in Drupal 7.x before 7.34 and the phpass module 6.x-2.x before 6.x-2.1 fails to bound the work performed on a crafted request, letting a remote attacker drive excessive CPU and memory consumption. Because the hashing path is reachable without authentication, a single client can degrade or exhaust server resources and take the site offline.

5.0 CVSS 2.0 Medium EPSS 82% · top 0.4%
5.0CVSS 2.0 base score
82%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
3Affected product versions listed by NVD
18References
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

The password hashing API in Drupal 7.x before 7.34 and the Secure Password Hashes (aka phpass) module 6.x-2.x before 6.x-2.1 for Drupal allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU and memory consumption) via a crafted request.

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Automated analysis

Generated by VULONE's analysis model from the NVD record, CISA KEV and EPSS data on 18 September 2026. Confidence: medium.

high priorityThe flaw is remotely reachable without authentication and has a very high EPSS score, though it only causes availability loss and patches are available.

What it is

The password hashing API in Drupal 7.x before 7.34 and the phpass module 6.x-2.x before 6.x-2.1 fails to bound the work performed on a crafted request, letting a remote attacker drive excessive CPU and memory consumption. Because the hashing path is reachable without authentication, a single client can degrade or exhaust server resources and take the site offline.

Impact

An attacker can cause a denial of service by consuming CPU and memory on the target, making the Drupal site unresponsive to legitimate users. There is no confidentiality or integrity impact; the effect is availability loss.

Attack surface

Reachable over the network through the password hashing API with no authentication required, per the AV:N/AC:L/Au:N vector. No user interaction is indicated by the description or vector.

Exploitation

Not listed in CISA KEV and no ransomware usage is documented, but EPSS is very high at 0.822 (99.6th percentile), indicating strong predicted exploitation activity. References are vendor advisories, patches and mailing list posts; none are tagged as exploit code.

What to do

  • Upgrade Drupal 7.x to 7.34 or later, and the phpass module to 6.x-2.1 or later, per the vendor advisories and patches.
  • Apply the Debian security update DSA-3075 if Drupal is installed from Debian packages.
  • If immediate patching is not possible, restrict or rate-limit access to password hashing endpoints at the reverse proxy or WAF.
  • Monitor CPU and memory on Drupal hosts and alert on sustained spikes tied to authentication or password-reset traffic.

Detection

  • Alert on sustained high CPU or memory usage on Drupal application servers, especially correlated with requests to password hashing or login endpoints.
  • Baseline and monitor request rates to authentication and password-reset paths for abnormal volume from single sources.
  • Review web server logs for repeated requests to Drupal password hashing endpoints from the same client or IP.

This assessment is produced automatically and is not human-reviewed. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting on it.

Affected products

3 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
http://secunia.com/advisories/59164 Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/59814 Third Party Advisory
http://www.debian.org/security/2014/dsa-3075 Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/11/20/21 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/11/20/3 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/11/21/1 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
https://www.drupal.org/SA-CORE-2014-006 Vendor Advisory
https://www.drupal.org/node/2378367 PatchVendor Advisory
https://www.drupal.org/node/2378375 PatchVendor Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/59164 Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/59814 Third Party Advisory
http://www.debian.org/security/2014/dsa-3075 Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/11/20/21 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/11/20/3 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/11/21/1 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
https://www.drupal.org/SA-CORE-2014-006 Vendor Advisory
https://www.drupal.org/node/2378367 PatchVendor Advisory
https://www.drupal.org/node/2378375 PatchVendor Advisory

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Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2014-9016), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-24). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.