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CVE-2014-6278

GNU Bash OS Command Injection Vulnerability

  • High 8.8
  • Exploited: added to CISA KEV 2 Oct 2025
  • A public exploit reference is listed

Description

GNU Bash through 4.3 bash43-026 does not properly parse function definitions in the values of environment variables, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted environment, as demonstrated by vectors involving the ForceCommand feature in OpenSSH sshd, the mod_cgi and mod_cgid modules in the Apache HTTP Server, scripts executed by unspecified DHCP clients, and other situations in which setting the environment occurs across a privilege boundary from Bash execution. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2014-6271, CVE-2014-7169, and CVE-2014-6277.

Key facts

Published
30 Sep 2014
Last changed
30 Dec 2025
Assigned by
debian
KEV added
2 Oct 2025
KEV fix due
23 Oct 2025
EPSS
99.742% likely to be exploited in the next 30 days, higher than 99.954% of CVEs (scores for 15 Nov 2026)
SSVC (CISA)
Exploitation: active; Automatable: no; Technical impact: total

Severity scores

Each score is shown as its source gave it. They are not averaged or merged.

  • 8.8CVSS 3.1, Highfrom CISA (ADP container)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

What to do

  • Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.CISA KEV required action

Historical context and remediation

This reference retains the original CVE publication date. A recent record update does not mean a new attack occurred.

No separately sourced impact summary is available on this page yet. Consult the description, version data and dated exploitation evidence.

Version statuses below come from the CNA. An “unaffected” version is not necessarily a currently supported release or proof of a patch date. EPSS is a dated risk estimate, not a count of historical attacks.

Read the original CVE record.

Affected products

VendorProductVersions
n/an/a
  • n/a (affected)

Timeline

  1. 30 Sep 2014 Published
  2. 2 Oct 2025 Added to the CISA KEV catalogue

Weakness

Practice this bug class

HackZoneLabs has a hands-on lab on OS command injection (CWE-78).

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References