Cyber Resilience

CVE-2016-6563

Memory Safety in Dlink Dir-823 Firmware

Public PoCHigh EPSSMemory Safety
Published
13 July 2018
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.80 99.6th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2016-6563 is a critical-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Dlink Dir-823 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Processing malformed SOAP messages when performing the HNAP Login action causes a buffer overflow in the stack in some D-Link DIR routers. The vulnerable XML fields within the SOAP body are: Action, Username, LoginPassword, and Captcha. The following products are…

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affected: DIR-823, DIR-822, DIR-818L(W), DIR-895L, DIR-890L, DIR-885L, DIR-880L, DIR-868L, and DIR-850L.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
Buffer overflow in SOAP login handler on public-facing web/SOAP interface enables remote code execution via crafted requests.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-6121Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2026-2856Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2025-6614Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2026-3978Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2025-5912Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2025-15190Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2025-5228Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2025-6374Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2025-13188Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2025-15194Same vendor: Dlink

Affected Assets

dlink
dir-823 firmware
all versions
dlink
dir-822 firmware
all versions
dlink
dir-818l\(w\) firmware
all versions
dlink
dir-895l firmware
all versions
dlink
dir-890l firmware
all versions
dlink
dir-885l firmware
all versions
dlink
dir-880l firmware
all versions
dlink
dir-868l firmware
all versions
dlink
dir-850l firmware
all versions

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V17.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-119

Ongoing control assessments and code testing (static/dynamic analysis, fuzzing) surface memory buffer restriction failures, which are then remediated before release.

addresses: CWE-119

Managed runtimes used by platform-independent applications (e.g., JVM, CLR) enforce memory safety, preventing most buffer overflows that require direct memory manipulation.

addresses: CWE-119

Memory protections (e.g., W^X, ASLR) make exploitation of buffer-boundary violations far harder to turn into code execution.

addresses: CWE-119

Detects exploitation attempts that produce memory corruption, crashes, or anomalous behavior.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly prevent introduction of stack buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing (fuzzing, static analysis) detects stack overflows before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates buffer-safety practices that directly prevent stack overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and input-validation rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and least-privilege stack usage.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer handling that causes CWE-121.

none

Change-management gates can enforce security reviews that catch buffer issues.

References