CVE-2022-43553
Published: 05 December 2022
Summary
CVE-2022-43553 is a high-severity Execution with Unnecessary Privileges (CWE-250) vulnerability in Ui Edgemax Edgerouter Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 10.7% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
CVE-2022-43553 is a remote code execution vulnerability affecting Ubiquiti EdgeRouters running firmware version 2.0.9-hotfix.4 and earlier. The flaw permits a malicious actor to execute arbitrary administrator commands and is associated with CWE-250, reflecting execution with unnecessary privileges. It carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8.
An attacker who already possesses an operator account can exploit the issue remotely without user interaction to run commands at administrator level, resulting in full control over the affected device and its configuration.
The vendor advisory published by Ubiquiti states that the vulnerability is fixed in firmware version 2.0.9-hotfix.5 and later, directing administrators to apply the update.
The EPSS score rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0945 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current value of 0.0444, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-46550
Vulnerability details
A remote code execution vulnerability in EdgeRouters (Version 2.0.9-hotfix.4 and earlier) allows a malicious actor with an operator account to run arbitrary administrator commands.This vulnerability is fixed in Version 2.0.9-hotfix.5 and later.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
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.
Policy promotes least privilege by defining necessary privileges and management commitment to them.
Supervision detects and allows removal of unnecessary privileges that enable execution with excess rights.
Reviewing accounts for compliance, disabling/removing unneeded accounts, and aligning with termination processes prevents execution with unnecessary privileges.
Separation of duties prevents any single user from holding all privileges needed to complete a critical task, directly reducing execution with unnecessary privileges.
Directly prevents execution with more privileges than needed for assigned tasks.
Role-based training on least privilege principles reduces the chance personnel assign or retain unnecessary privileges.
Analysis of audit records can identify execution with unnecessary privileges through unusual activity patterns.
Automatic termination after a defined period eliminates unnecessary privileges from persistent connections.