Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers Management Interface Command Injection Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability

The web-based management interface of multiple Cisco Small Business RV series routers—specifically models RV016, RV042, RV042G, RV082, RV320, and RV325—contains a command injection vulnerability. The flaw arises from improper validation of user-supplied input in the management interface, allowing an authenticated attacker to inject arbitrary operating system commands that execute with root privileges [1]. All firmware versions prior to the fixed releases are affected.

Exploitation

An attacker must have valid administrator credentials for the targeted device. With these credentials, the attacker sends specially crafted HTTP requests to the web-based management interface, which are not properly sanitized. The attacker can inject commands through input fields that are then executed by the underlying OS, bypassing intended restrictions [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation enables the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the device's operating system as the root user. This results in full compromise of the router, including complete disclosure of sensitive data, modification of system configurations, and potential use of the device as a pivot point within the network [1].

Mitigation

Cisco has released free software updates to address these vulnerabilities. Customers should upgrade to the latest firmware version for their respective router model. Specific fixed version numbers are detailed in the Cisco Security Advisory [1]. For devices that cannot be upgraded, Cisco recommends restricting management access to trusted IP addresses and disabling the web-based management interface if it is not required [1].