CVE-2014-8684 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-310 vulnerability in codeigniter/framework. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for codeigniter/framework — see the affected versions and patch details below.
CodeIgniter and Kohana vulnerable to PHP Object Injection
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2014-8684 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
codeigniter/framework🐘kohana/coreReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
CodeIgniter before 3.0 and Kohana 3.2.3 and earlier and 3.3.x through 3.3.2 make it easier for remote attackers to spoof session cookies and consequently conduct PHP object injection attacks by leveraging use of standard string comparison operators to compare cryptographic hashes.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | codeigniter/framework | all versions | 3.0.0composer require codeigniter/framework:^3.0.0 |
| 🐘Packagist | kohana/core | all versions | 3.3.3composer require kohana/core:^3.3.3 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Seagate Business NAS - Remote Command Execution (Metasploit)
by Metasploit · Mar 4, 2015
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for codeigniter/framework, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update codeigniter/framework to 3.0.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2014-8684 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2014-8684 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2014-8684. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2014-8684 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2014-8684 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.