How severe is CVE-2014-6278?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2014-6278 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2014-6278?

Affected package information for CVE-2014-6278 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2014-6278?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2014-6278 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2014-6278 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 8 known exploit references for CVE-2014-6278, including 5 documented proof-of-concept exploits on Exploit-DB and 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2014-6278?

CVE-2014-6278 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 91.7%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2014-6278 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2014-6278 (GNU Bash OS Command Injection Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2025-10-02. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2025-10-23. The required action was: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2014-6278?

CVE-2014-6278 is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2014-6278 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2014-6278 was published on September 30, 2014 and was last updated on April 16, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2025-10-02 — agencies required to remediate by 2025-10-23

CVE-2014-6278

Published

Sep 30, 2014

Updated

Apr 16, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

8 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

91.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

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.

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-39887webappscgi

Sun Secure Global Desktop and Oracle Global Desktop 4.61.915 - Command Injection (Shellshock)

by lastc0de · Jun 6, 2016

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-39568remotehardware

Cisco UCS Manager 2.1(1b) - Remote Command Injection (Shellshock)

by thatchriseckert · Mar 16, 2016

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-34860remotelinux

GNU bash 4.3.11 - Environment Variable dhclient

by @0x00string · Oct 2, 2014

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-36933remotelinux✓ Verified

dhclient 4.1 - Bash Environment Variable Command Injection (Shellshock)

by fdiskyou · Sep 29, 2014

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-34900remotelinux✓ Verified

Apache mod_cgi - 'Shellshock' Remote Command Injection

by Federico Galatolo · Oct 6, 2014

Exploit-DB Source

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2014-6278 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2014-6278 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works