Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers Management Interface Remote Command Execution and Denial of Service Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability

The web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business RV016, RV042, RV042G, RV082, RV320, and RV325 Routers is vulnerable to multiple issues due to improper validation of user-supplied input. These vulnerabilities allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause the device to restart. Affected firmware versions are those prior to the fixed releases mentioned in Cisco's advisory [1].

Exploitation

An attacker must have valid administrator credentials on the affected device. With those credentials, the attacker can send specially crafted HTTP requests to the web-based management interface. The improper input validation fails to neutralize malicious elements in the request, leading to memory corruption or other unsafe conditions [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation yields arbitrary code execution as the root user on the underlying operating system, giving the attacker full control over the device. Alternatively, an attacker can trigger a device reload, causing a denial of service (DoS) condition. Both outcomes compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected router [1].

Mitigation

Cisco has released free software updates to address these vulnerabilities. Customers are advised to consult the Cisco Security Advisory [1] for the specific fixed firmware versions for each model and upgrade their devices accordingly. No workarounds are available; updating to a patched version is the only remedy [1].