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CVE-2014-6278GNU Bash OS Command Injection Vulnerability

Patch nowHigh8.8Exploited, CISA due date 2025-10-23EPSS 100%, higher than 100% of scored CVEs

CVE-2014-6278 is a OS command injection in GNU Bash, rated high (8.8 on CVSS 3.1).

Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.

Published · Updated · NVD status: Analyzed

What it is

Input reaches an operating-system command line, letting an attacker run their own commands on the host.

How it is reached

An attacker can exploit it over the network, without an account, but someone has to act first, such as opening a file or following a link.

What an attacker gains

A successful attack can read the data it protects, change data or behaviour and take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker run commands or code with the privileges of the affected service.

Is it being exploited?

CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-10-02: it is being exploited in the wild. EPSS estimates a 100% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 100% of scored CVEs.

What to do

  1. Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2025-10-23.
  2. Apply the fix for GNU Bash: the patch and release notes are linked below.
  3. Until it is patched, keep it off the internet or behind a VPN, allowlist or authenticating proxy.
  4. Warn the people who use it, and filter files and links on the way in.
  5. Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.

Description from NVD

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.

What this means for your architecture.

A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.

Components it touches

  • Application servers and the hosts they run on. The flaw sits between untrusted input and code or command execution.
  • Template engines. The flaw sits between untrusted input and code or command execution.

Trust boundaries in play

  • Internet-facing entry points. No account is needed. Any instance reachable from outside your perimeter, through a load balancer, gateway, VPN or exposed admin port, is in scope.
  • People who open files and links. Mail, chat and browsers are the delivery path.
  • Between untrusted input and code or command execution. An attacker who crosses it can run commands or code with the privileges of the affected service.

Questions to answer about your own systems

  • Where does GNU Bash run in your systems, and at which version?
  • Which of those instances can be reached from the internet or partner networks?
  • What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
See how Veriom maps an architectureTake the interactive tour

Read more

Sources

  • CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
  • Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
  • Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
  • Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.