Threats / TP-Link / CVE-2023-33538
CVE-2023-33538
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
TP-Link Multiple Routers vulnerability
TP-Link routers contain a command injection vulnerability in the WlanNetworkRpm component, allowing remote code execution. Affected end-of-life models include TL-WR940N, TL-WR841N, and TL-WR740N variants.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
This command injection vulnerability enables unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on vulnerable TP-Link routers. The high EPSS score and active exploitation indicate immediate risk to unpatched devices, particularly concerning given the end-of-life status of affected models
CISA KEV Yes · 2025-06-164EPSS 0.41874 (verify live)5Exploit Public PoC6CVSS 8.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
3 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 2025-06-16).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.41874 — 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:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: TP-Link, Multiple Routers. 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 740 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.
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 targeting the /userRpm/WlanNetworkRpm endpoint with injected shell commands.
Business
Network infrastructure is compromised, enabling lateral movement into corporate systems and data exfiltration.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I execute commands to establish persistent access and modify router configurations for traffic interception.
Business
Sensitive communications are monitored; customer data and intellectual property are exposed to theft.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I pivot from the compromised router to connected devices and internal network segments.
Business
Operational continuity is disrupted; remediation costs and incident response burden escalate significantly.
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