CVE-2014-4678

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

This critical-severity CVE scores 9.8 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 10.1%, top 7% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).

Triggered by: NVD CVSS baseline
Sources: epss, nvd
9.8
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 5%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

The safe_eval function in Ansible before 1.6.4 does not properly restrict the code subset, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted instructions. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2014-4657.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8(medium)
EPSS
91.5%
KEV
Not listed

Published

February 20, 2020

Last Modified

November 21, 2024

Advisory Details (4)

Auto-updated May 27, 2026
Patch available. Sources: github_commit.
github_commit Patch Available

commit 5429b85b9f6c (ansible/ansible)

Patch available: ansible/ansible v2.20.3rc1 (contains commit 5429b85b9f6c)

https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/5429b85b9f6c2e640074176f36ff05fd5e4d1916
generic

oss-security - Re: Ansible CVE requests

https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/07/02/2
generic

oss-security - Re: Re: Ansible CVE requests

https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/06/26/30

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)
PyPI(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
ansible1.0 ... 0.01 (36 versions)1.6.4

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 7× in last 7d / 37× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-07-11 08:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-09 19:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-08 15:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-07 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-06 16:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-06 02:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-05 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-04 06:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-07-02 08:47 UTCOSV refresh
  10. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-28 14:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-28 04:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-28 04:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-27 03:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 35 more
  1. 2026-06-19 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-16 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-14 23:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-14 08:13 UTCOSV refresh
  11. 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-12 23:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-11 13:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-10 22:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-08 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-04 13:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-04 13:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-05-31 00:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-05-31 00:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-05-29 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-05-27 07:25 UTCEG score recompute
  35. 2026-05-24 16:43 UTCEPSS rescore

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2014-4678?
CVE-2014-4678 is a critical vulnerability published on February 20, 2020. The safe_eval function in Ansible before 1.6.4 does not properly restrict the code subset, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted instructions. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2014-4657.
When was CVE-2014-4678 disclosed?
CVE-2014-4678 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on February 20, 2020, with the most recent update on November 21, 2024. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2014-4678 actively exploited?
CVE-2014-4678 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 91.5% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2014-4678?
CVE-2014-4678 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2014-4678?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2014-4678, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

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