How to check if you are exposed to CVE-2014-6278
- Find every GNU Bash system you or your clients run, including ones exposed to the internet. Those come first: CISA only lists flaws attackers are already using.
- Compare each version with the fixed versions in the vendor advisory below. Where no fix exists yet, apply the vendor’s mitigation or take the system off the internet.
- Run a credentialed vulnerability scan to catch the systems you missed, then check that the next scan no longer reports CVE-2014-6278.
US federal agencies had to fix this by 2025-10-23. Everyone else should treat that deadline as a guide: if it has passed, this is overdue.
Timeline
- · Added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
- · Fix-by date for US federal agencies, passed 374 days ago
Vendor advisories and fixes
- http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/bash/bash-4.3-patches/bash43-027
- https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/23467
- https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20140926-bash
- https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/security-bulletin-update-vulnerabilities-bash-affect-aix-toolbox-linux-applications-cve-2014-6271-cve-2014-6277-cve-2014-6278-cve-2014-7169-cve-2014-7186-and-cve-2014-7187
Weakness type
More exploited GNU vulnerabilities
CISA lists 5 exploited GNU vulnerabilities. The closest matches:
- CVE-2026-24061GNU InetUtils Argument Injection VulnerabilityAdded 2026-01-26
- CVE-2023-4911GNU C Library Buffer Overflow VulnerabilityAdded 2023-11-21
- CVE-2014-7169GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution VulnerabilityAdded 2022-01-28
- CVE-2014-6271GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution VulnerabilityAdded 2022-01-28
Keep going
Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (version 2026.10.30); EPSS data from FIRST.org; CVSS and descriptions from the NIST National Vulnerability Database. Checked 2026-11-01. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.