CVE-2014-6278 Vulnerability Details

What is CVE-2014-6278?

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.

The record classifies CVE-2014-6278 under weakness class CWE-78. Its CVSS v3 base vector states that the flaw is reachable remotely over the network, needs no prior authentication, needs a user to take an action first, and has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability. The identifier was first published 4393 days ago.

Severity and exploitation probability

CVSS v3.1 base score: 8.8 — HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS (FIRST): 99.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.9% of all scored CVEs
CISA KEV: Listed since 2025-10-02, federal remediation deadline 2025-10-23
Threadlinqs priority: 9/10 — CISA KEV-listed, which Threadlinqs floors at 9
Published: 2014-09-30, last modified 2025-12-30

Is CVE-2014-6278 being exploited?

CISA added CVE-2014-6278 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-10-02, which means the agency holds evidence of exploitation in the wild; US federal civilian agencies had to remediate it by 2025-10-23 under BOD 22-01. Weaponised exploit code for CVE-2014-6278 is publicly available. 1 public proof-of-concept repository is tracked for this identifier. It currently carries a trending score of 48 in the Threadlinqs vulnerability feed.

trickest/cve (trickest)

Affected products and versions

No affected-product or package list has been recorded for CVE-2014-6278 in the tracked sources. The vendor advisory and the references below are the authoritative statement of what is affected.

How to fix CVE-2014-6278

Because CVE-2014-6278 is KEV-listed, US federal civilian agencies were required to apply the vendor fix, or stop using the product, by 2025-10-23. No vendor patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2014-6278 in the tracked sources. Follow the references below for a fix, and treat any affected deployment as exposed until the vendor states otherwise.

Threat activity tracking CVE-2014-6278

1 tracked threat in the Threadlinqs corpus references CVE-2014-6278, either in the campaign’s CVE list or as an indicator on the campaign record.

Chinese Government-linked Actors Enabled by Integrity Technology Group Combine Automated and Hands-on Hacking Tools to Steal Sensitive Data (CISA AA26-281A) — HIGH · 2026-10-08

Sources

Enriched from CVE.org, FIRST EPSS, CISA KEV, GitHub Security Advisories, public proof-of-concept repositories. Last verified by Threadlinqs on 2026-10-10.

CVE-2014-6278