CVE-2014-7169: GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 28 Jan 2022, 2,682 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 99.9%
EPSS score, percentile 100 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
CISA deadline 28 Jul 2022. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- Which versions are affected?
Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA due date for this action: 28 July 2022.
Advisories and patches
- HPSBMU03165
- HPSBHF03119
- HPSBST03131
- SSRT101819
- HPSBMU03245
- openSUSE-SU-2014:1229
- openSUSE-SU-2014:1254
- HPSBMU03143
- HPSBMU03182
- RHSA-2014:1306
- HPSBST03155
- USN-2363-2
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
Affected products and versions
The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
GNU Bash through 4.3 processes trailing strings after function definitions in the values of environment variables, which allows remote attackers to execute code. This CVE correctly remediates the vulnerability in CVE-2014-6271.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2014-7169 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 28 Jan 2022.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 28 Jul 2022.
- The CVE record was published on 25 Sep 2014, 2,682 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 99.9% (percentile 100), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Description
GNU Bash through 4.3 bash43-025 processes trailing strings after certain malformed function definitions in the values of environment variables, which allows remote attackers to write to files or possibly have unknown other impact 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.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 25 Sep 2014 | CVE record published |
| 28 Jan 2022 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 28 Jul 2022 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 22 Oct 2025 | CVE record last updated |
References
148 more in the CVE record.
More exploited GNU vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-24061: GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Vulnerability
- CVE-2014-6278: GNU Bash OS Command Injection Vulnerability
- CVE-2023-4911: GNU C Library Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
- CVE-2014-6271: GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability