CVE-2019-14868 Command injection in ksh

High 7.4 Published 2 Apr 2020 Updated 5 Aug 2024

An attacker can execute arbitrary shell commands by manipulating environment variables in KornShell, potentially compromising systems running vulnerable versions.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2019-14868?

CVE-2019-14868 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 2 Apr 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

In ksh version 20120801, a flaw was found in the way it evaluates certain environment variables. An attacker could use this flaw to override or bypass environment restrictions to execute shell commands. Services and applications that allow remote unauthenticated attackers to provide one of those environment variables could allow them to exploit this issue remotely.

Weakness: CWE-77

Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-14868?

It affects 3 products.

Linux distribution packages (40)

`ksh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:20120801-38.el6_10`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:20120801-38.el6_10`
`ksh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode	All versions	`0:20120801-38.el6_10`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode	All versions	`0:20120801-38.el6_10`
`ksh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:20120801-38.el6_10`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:20120801-38.el6_10`
`ksh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:20120801-38.el6_10`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:20120801-38.el6_10`
`ksh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_7`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_7`
`ksh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_7`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_7`
`ksh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_7`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_7`
`ksh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_7`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_7`
`ksh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`0:20120801-253.el8_1`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`0:20120801-253.el8_1`
`ksh-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`0:20120801-253.el8_1`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.2::server	All versions	`0:20120801-26.el7_2`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.2::server	All versions	`0:20120801-26.el7_2`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.3::server	All versions	`0:20120801-27.el7_3`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.3::server	All versions	`0:20120801-27.el7_3`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server	All versions	`0:20120801-36.el7_4`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server	All versions	`0:20120801-36.el7_4`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_e4s:7.4::server	All versions	`0:20120801-36.el7_4`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_e4s:7.4::server	All versions	`0:20120801-36.el7_4`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.0::appstream	All versions	`0:20120801-253.el8_0`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.0::appstream	All versions	`0:20120801-253.el8_0`
`ksh-debugsource` Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.0::appstream	All versions	`0:20120801-253.el8_0`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::computenode	All versions	`0:20120801-138.el7_5`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::computenode	All versions	`0:20120801-138.el7_5`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::server	All versions	`0:20120801-138.el7_5`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::server	All versions	`0:20120801-138.el7_5`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.6::computenode	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_6`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.6::computenode	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_6`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.6::server	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_6`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.6::server	All versions	`0:20120801-140.el7_6`
`ksh` Red Hat:rhel_tus:7.4::server	All versions	`0:20120801-36.el7_4`
`ksh-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_tus:7.4::server	All versions	`0:20120801-36.el7_4`

Products include Apple Mac Os X, Debian Debian Linux, Ksh Project Ksh.

How do I fix CVE-2019-14868?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, and pass arguments to programs as a list instead of through a shell. More about Command injection.

Is CVE-2019-14868 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-14868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Apple Mac Os X vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2019-14868, DLA-2284-1, GHSA-2x84-7422-962r, MGASA-2021-0141, RHSA-2020:0431, RHSA-2020:0515 and 10 more.