# CVE-2023-1389: TP-Link Archer AX21 - RCE

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2023-1389 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2023-1389

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Background Noise. Continuous low-level scanning or exploitation attempts are observed, mostly opportunistic and automated.
- **CVSS score:** 8.8
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** TP-Link Archer AX21
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection'))
- **Tags:** firewall, iot

## Description

TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) firmware versions before 1.1.4 Build 20230219 contained a command injection vulnerability in the country form of the /cgi-bin/luci;stok=/locale endpoint on the web management interface. Specifically, the country parameter of the write operation was not sanitized before being used in a call to popen(), allowing an unauthenticated attacker to inject commands, which would be run as root, with a simple POST request.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2023-1389](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2023-1389) is a command injection vulnerability found in the web management interface of certain TP-Link Archer devices, allowing unauthenticated attackers to execute commands with root privileges via unsanitized input.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 15th of December 2023.

According to CrowdSec data, while opportunistic exploitation dominates, a portion of threat actors trying to exploit CVE-2023-1389 apply basic targeting methods such as port or service detection. This indicates emerging patterns of selective targeting.
In addition, according to the CrowdSec network, attack volume against CVE-2023-1389 has dipped slightly compared to the previous week. Although still commonly targeted, the decline suggests a cooling-off period. Long-term relevance remains, but attention is waning.

Observed exploitation attempts focus on URLs containing the `/cgi-bin/luci/;stok=/locale` path.

## Timeline

- 2023-03-15: CVE Published. CVE-2023-1389 is published to NVD.
- 2023-05-01: CISA KEV. CVE-2023-1389 is added to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog by CISA.
- 2023-05-22: CISA Remediation Deadline. Expiration of the CISA remediation deadline as described in [BOD 22-01](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-22-01-reducing-significant-risk-known-exploited-vulnerabilities).
- 2023-12-15: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2023-1389 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2024-11-23: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2023-1389 for the first time.

## References

- https://www.tenable.com/security/research/tra-2023-11
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-1389.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2023-1389) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2023-1389. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.