Threats / GNU / CVE-2014-7169
CVE-2014-7169
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-09-19
GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) vulnerability
GNU Bash through 4.3 allows remote code execution through environment variable function definitions with trailing strings, enabling arbitrary command execution on affected systems.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code by crafting environment variables containing function definitions with trailing commands. This vulnerability affects systems where Bash processes untrusted environment variables, particularly in CGI scripts, SSH forced commands, and privilege escalation co
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-01-284EPSS 0.9994 (verify live)5Exploit Weaponized · public PoC6CVSS 9.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
4 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-01-28).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.9994 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 9.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: GNU, Bourne-Again Shell (Bash). Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-78 OS Command Injection — weakness family: Injection.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 2682 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious environment variable containing a Bash function definition with trailing shell commands.
Business
An attacker gains arbitrary code execution on web servers, application servers, or systems accepting remote input through environment variables.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I inject the payload through CGI parameters, SSH forced commands, or other mechanisms that set environment variables before invoking Bash.
Business
Compromised systems may be used for data theft, lateral movement, or as pivot points for further network compromise.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute commands with the privileges of the Bash process, potentially escalating to higher-privilege contexts.
Business
System integrity is compromised, leading to potential loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical services and data.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05
Coverage & confidence
— what we know, and what we don’tEstablished (cited)
Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden
Disclosure & credit2
Catalogued by mitreCNA
Credited with finding itNo finder is named in the public CVE record or the scanned vendor advisory — attribution scoped to the sources checked.
Found an error? Propose a correction.
A correction is a cited counter-claim — it must cite a source,
gets reviewed by a second human, and is never auto-applied. See the
correction convention and our identity
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