Security Resilience

CVE-2020-10987

RCE in Tenda Ac15 Firmware 15.03.05.19

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRCECommand Injection
Published
13 July 2020
Modified
07 November 2025
KEV Added
03 November 2021
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/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

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2020-10987 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Tenda Ac15 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); ranked in the top 0.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability is an OS command injection flaw (CWE-78) in the goform/setUsbUnload endpoint of Tenda AC15 AC1900 routers running firmware version 15.03.05.19. Untrusted input supplied through the deviceName POST parameter is passed directly to system commands without sanitization, enabling arbitrary command execution on the device.

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit the issue over the network by sending a crafted HTTP POST request to the affected endpoint. Successful exploitation grants full control of the device, allowing arbitrary code execution with impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming observed exploitation in the wild. Public research from Independent Security Evaluators details the discovery and provides working exploitation details for the Tenda AC1900 platform.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The goform/setUsbUnload endpoint of Tenda AC15 AC1900 version 15.03.05.19 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary system commands via the deviceName POST parameter.

CWE(s)
CWE-78
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.004 SSH Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.008 Direct Cloud VM Connections Lateral Movement
Adversaries may leverage [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1027.001 Binary Padding Stealth
Adversaries may use binary padding to add junk data and change the on-disk representation of malware.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-2812Same product: Tenda Ac15
CVE-2026-24101Same product: Tenda Ac15
CVE-2024-30645Same product: Tenda Ac15
CVE-2024-2851Same product: Tenda Ac15
CVE-2018-14558Same vendor: Tendaboth on KEV
CVE-2025-10442Same product: Tenda Ac15
CVE-2023-40839Same vendor: Tenda
CVE-2024-2853Same vendor: Tenda
CVE-2023-27076Same vendor: Tenda
CVE-2023-51099Same vendor: Tenda

Affected Assets

tenda
ac15 firmware
15.03.05.19

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

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.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

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
blocks

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

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.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References