CVE20147169

CVE-2014-7169 is a critical vulnerability that affected the Bash shell, a common command-line interpreter used in many Unix-like operating systems, including Linux and macOS. This vulnerability, often referred to as the "Shellshock" bug, was publicly disclosed in September 2014.

The vulnerability stemmed from how Bash handled functions defined in environment variables. Specifically, when Bash parsed environment variables containing function definitions, it would incorrectly execute arbitrary code following the function definition. This allowed attackers to execute commands remotely by sending specially crafted environment variables to vulnerable Bash instances.

Exploitation could occur through various network-facing services that used Bash, such as web servers running CGI scripts or services that exposed Bash to external input. A successful exploit could grant an attacker full control over the compromised system, enabling them to steal data, install malware, or disrupt services.

The widespread nature of Bash and the ease of exploitation made Shellshock a significant security concern. Numerous vendors and operating system maintainers quickly released patches to address the vulnerability. Users were advised to update their Bash installations to the latest patched versions as soon as possible to mitigate the risk. The disclosure of CVE-2014-7169 led to a period of intense security patching and heightened awareness regarding the security of widely used open-source software components.