CVE-2014-7169
CRITICALEPSS Exploitation Probability
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 bash43-025 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.
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Bash - 'Shellshock' Environment Variables Command Injection
by Prakhar Prasad & Subho Halder · Sep 25, 2014
Postfix SMTP 4.2.x < 4.2.48 - 'Shellshock' Remote Command Injection
by Phil Blank · Oct 6, 2014
IPFire - CGI Web Interface (Authenticated) Bash Environment Variable Code Injection
by Claudio Viviani · Oct 1, 2014
PHP < 5.6.2 - 'Shellshock' Safe Mode / disable_functions Bypass / Command Injection
by Ryan King (Starfall) · Nov 3, 2014
QNAP - Admin Shell via Bash Environment Variable Code Injection (Metasploit)
by Patrick Pellegrino · Mar 26, 2015
Kemp Load Master 7.1.16 - Multiple Vulnerabilities
by Roberto Suggi Liverani · Apr 2, 2015
CUPS Filter - Bash Environment Variable Code Injection (Metasploit)
by Metasploit · Oct 29, 2014
Pure-FTPd - External Authentication Bash Environment Variable Code Injection (Metasploit)
by Metasploit · Oct 2, 2014
OpenVPN 2.2.29 - 'Shellshock' Remote Command Injection
by hobbily plunt · Oct 4, 2014
GNU bash 4.3.11 - Environment Variable dhclient
by @0x00string · Oct 2, 2014
Detection & mitigation playbook
VulnerabilityDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for the affected component. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Remediation status
No patched version of the affected component has shipped for CVE-2014-7169 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2014-7169 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2014-7169. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2014-7169 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2014-7169 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.