Threats / TP-Link / CVE-2023-1389
CVE-2023-1389
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
TP-Link Archer AX21 vulnerability
TP-Link Archer AX21 router contains a command injection vulnerability enabling remote code execution. The flaw has been exploited in the wild.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can inject arbitrary commands through the affected router, achieving code execution with device privileges. Active exploitation in the wild elevates risk despite no ransomware association.
CISA KEV Yes · 2023-05-014EPSS 0.99999 (verify live)5Exploit Weaponized · public PoC6CVSS 8.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
1141 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-05-01).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.99999 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 8.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: TP-Link, Archer AX21. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-77 Command Injection — weakness family: Injection.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 47 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a public proof-of-concept / detection template). Catalog entries: nuclei template. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious request containing shell metacharacters to bypass input validation on the router's web interface or API.
Business
Network perimeter security is compromised as the router becomes an entry point for lateral movement into internal systems.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the router process, establishing persistence and monitoring capabilities.
Business
Customer trust erodes as deployed network infrastructure is weaponized for espionage or further compromise of connected devices.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I pivot from the compromised router to intercept, modify, or redirect traffic from connected endpoints.
Business
Data confidentiality and integrity are at risk across all devices relying on the router for network access.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05