CVE-2023-30013

OS Command Injection in TOTOLINK X5000R V9

Verified by Precogs Threat Research
Last Updated: Jan 29, 2025
Base Score
9.8CRITICAL

Executive Summary

CVE-2023-30013 is a critical severity vulnerability affecting appsec. It is classified as OS Command Injection. Ensure your systems and dependencies are patched immediately to mitigate exposure risks.

Precogs AI Insight

"TOTOLINK X5000R routers are vulnerable to an unauthenticated command injection flaw. Attackers exploit a vulnerable endpoint in the web interface to gain full administrative control over the router. Precogs Application Security Module tracks untrusted input flows to system shell execution."

Exploit Probability (EPSS)
High (92.1%)
Public POC
Available
Exploit Probability
High (84%)
Public POC
Available
Affected Assets
appsecCWE-78

What is this vulnerability?

CVE-2023-30013 is categorized as a critical OS Command Injection flaw with a CVSS base score of 9.8. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.

TOTOLINK X5000R V9.1.0u.6118_B20201102 and V9.1.0u.6369_B20230113 contain a command insertion vulnerability in setting/setTracerouteCfg. This vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary commands through the "command" parameter.

This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.

Risk Assessment

MetricValue
CVSS Base Score9.8 (CRITICAL)
Vector StringCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
PublishedMay 5, 2023
Last ModifiedJanuary 29, 2025
Related CWEsCWE-78, CWE-78

Impact on Systems

Data Exfiltration: Attackers can extract sensitive data from backend databases, configuration files, or internal services.

Authentication Bypass: Exploiting this flaw may allow unauthorized access to protected resources and administrative interfaces.

Lateral Movement: Once initial access is gained, attackers can pivot to internal systems and escalate privileges.

How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2023-30013

  1. Apply Vendor Patches: Upgrade affected components to their latest, non-vulnerable versions immediately.
  2. Implement Input Validation: Ensure all user-supplied data is validated, sanitized, and type-checked before processing.
  3. Deploy Runtime Protection: Use Precogs continuous monitoring to detect exploitation attempts in real time.
  4. Audit Dependencies: Review and update all third-party libraries and transitive dependencies.

Defending with Precogs AI

TOTOLINK X5000R routers are vulnerable to an unauthenticated command injection flaw. Attackers exploit a vulnerable endpoint in the web interface to gain full administrative control over the router. Precogs Application Security Module tracks untrusted input flows to system shell execution.

Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.

Start scanning with Precogs →

Vulnerability Code Signature

Attack Data Flow

StageDetail
SourceUser-supplied system argument
VectorArgument appended to a shell command string
Sinkchild_process.exec() or similar OS execution sink
ImpactRemote Code Execution (RCE), full system compromise

Vulnerable Code Pattern

// ❌ VULNERABLE: OS command injection
const { exec } = require('child_process');
function pingHost(host) {
  // Taint sink: unvalidated host string executed in shell
  exec('ping -c 4 ' + host, (error, stdout, stderr) => {
    console.log(stdout);
  });
}

Secure Code Pattern

// ✅ SECURE: ExecFile with parameter arrays
const { execFile } = require('child_process');
function pingHost(host) {
  // Sanitized execution: arguments passed safely, bypassing shell interpolation
  execFile('ping', ['-c', '4', host], (error, stdout, stderr) => {
    console.log(stdout);
  });
}

How Precogs Detects This

Precogs AI Analysis Engine natively intercepts unsafe OS command execution sinks, ensuring all arguments are properly separated from the execution context.\n

Related Vulnerabilitiesvia CWE-78

Is your system affected?

Precogs AI detects CVE-2023-30013 in compiled binaries, LLMs, and application layers — even without source code access.