# CVE-2024-46506: NetAlertX - Authentication Bypass

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2024-46506 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-2024-46506

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Limited Exploitation. The vulnerability is known but shows very limited attacker interest or exploitation activity.
- **CVSS score:** 10.0
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** NetAlertX
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Function)
- **Tags:** web_application

## Description

NetAlertX 23.01.14 through 24.x before 24.10.12 allows unauthenticated command injection via settings update because function=savesettings lacks an authentication requirement, as exploited in the wild in May 2025. This is related to settings.php and util.php.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2024-46506](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2024-46506) is a critical unauthenticated command injection vulnerability in NetAlertX versions 23.01.14 through 24.x before 24.10.12, stemming from a lack of authentication in the savesettings function. Exploited in the wild, this flaw allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the affected system via settings.php and util.php, potentially leading to full system compromise, data theft, or service disruption.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 24th of September 2025.

Data from the CrowdSec community indicates that exploitation of CVE-2024-46506 is highly selective and intelligence-driven. Threat actors use advanced reconnaissance and carefully choose their targets, often as part of sophisticated campaigns or advanced persistent threat operations.
Telemetry from the CrowdSec network also shows that exploitation activity for CVE-2024-46506 remains steady week-over-week. Attack volumes are consistent with long-term trends, indicating sustained interest from threat actors. CVE-2024-46506 continues to be an active part of the threat landscape and will likely remain this way for the forseeable future.

Attackers exploit unauthenticated POST requests to `/php/server/util.php` with `function=savesettings` to inject arbitrary commands, followed by execution via `function=addToExecutionQueue`. Subsequent GET requests to `/api/table_settings.json` may be used to verify successful code execution.

## Timeline

- 2025-05-13: CVE Published. CVE-2024-46506 is published to NVD.
- 2025-09-24: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2024-46506 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-10-03: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2024-46506 for the first time.

## References

- https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/research/cve-2024-46506-rce-in-netalertx/
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2024/CVE-2024-46506.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2024-46506) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2024-46506. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.