Apple Releases OS X Bash Update to Fix 'Shellshock' Security Flaw in Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and Lion

Apple today released OS X bash update 1.0 for OS X Mavericks to fix a vulnerability in the bash UNIX shell.

The security flaw, known in the media as "Shellshock," was discovered last week. Uncovered by security researchers, the exploit in the bash command shell in OS X and Linux could be used to deploy malicious code.

bashupdate
According to an Apple spokesperson, most OS X users were not at risk form the bash vulnerabilities, but the company promised to work quickly to provide an update.

Bash, a UNIX command shell and language included in OS X, has a weakness that could allow unauthorized users to remotely gain control of vulnerable systems. With OS X, systems are safe by default and not exposed to remote exploits of bash unless users configure advanced UNIX services. We are working to quickly provide a software update for our advanced UNIX users.

Along with the fix for OS X Mavericks, Apple has released updates for both OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion. There is no Yosemite download available as of yet, but Apple may be planning to issue a fix in the near future. The three updates are available via Apple's support pages and should be available via the Software Update tool soon.

Related Forum: OS X Mavericks

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Top Rated Comments

andyyardley Avatar
145 months ago
Will this update break my wifi? Or delete all my files?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrisgeleven Avatar
145 months ago
Not seeing it in the App Store yet.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gnasher729 Avatar
145 months ago
It's a very highly published and potently exploitable bug. You don't need to be running a server for it to be exploited.

It could, for example, be exploited by malware that you download. The bash patch should be applied by everyone.

That's like saying that the door of my house is not safe, because someone could climb through my windows and open it from inside.

If you were stupid enough to have downloaded malware, that malware doesn't need to exploit any bugs in bash. It can just use bash.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sconnor99 Avatar
145 months ago
Careful guys. This update disables your MacBook's keyboard.


!!@£!@$@%£^£&**(!!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xenomorph Avatar
145 months ago
Before:


$ bash --version
GNU bash, version 3.2.51(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin13)


After:


$ bash --version
GNU bash, version 3.2.53(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin13)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jayducharme Avatar
145 months ago
sucks for yosemite users.

I wonder if Yosemite is already fixed.

Hopefully, this update won't delete documents and kill your modem...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)