CVE-2023-30013
OS Command Injection in TOTOLINK X5000R V9
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."
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
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| CVSS Base Score | 9.8 (CRITICAL) |
| Vector String | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Published | May 5, 2023 |
| Last Modified | January 29, 2025 |
| Related CWEs | CWE-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
- Apply Vendor Patches: Upgrade affected components to their latest, non-vulnerable versions immediately.
- Implement Input Validation: Ensure all user-supplied data is validated, sanitized, and type-checked before processing.
- Deploy Runtime Protection: Use Precogs continuous monitoring to detect exploitation attempts in real time.
- 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.
Vulnerability Code Signature
Attack Data Flow
| Stage | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source | User-supplied system argument |
| Vector | Argument appended to a shell command string |
| Sink | child_process.exec() or similar OS execution sink |
| Impact | Remote 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