Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-46169

RCE in Cacti ≤ 1.2.23

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRCECommand InjectionAccess Control
Published
05 December 2022
Modified
24 October 2025
KEV Added
16 February 2023
Patch / advisory
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 0.99 100.0th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2022-46169 is a critical-severity Injection (CWE-74) vulnerability in Cacti Cacti. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 0.0% 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.

Cacti is an open source operational monitoring platform that contains a command injection vulnerability in the remote_agent.php file, which is reachable without authentication. The flaw stems from improper handling in get_client_addr within lib/functions.php, where HTTP_ prefixed $_SERVER variables can be attacker-controlled, combined with a subsequent gethostbyaddr check against the poller table that contains a default entry for the Cacti server hostname itself. Once authorization is obtained, the polldata action invokes poll_for_data and ultimately proc_open with an attacker-supplied poller_id parameter, enabling arbitrary command execution when a poller_item configured for POLLER_ACTION_SCRIPT_PHP exists.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue by supplying a Forwarded-For header that matches the Cacti server's IP address, thereby satisfying the poller hostname check. The attacker then supplies host_id and local_data_id values (obtainable via brute force on a typical installation that uses standard templates) along with a poller_id containing shell metacharacters, resulting in full command execution on the server with the privileges of the Cacti process.

The vulnerability was addressed in Cacti 1.2.23 by preventing get_client_addr from honoring untrusted HTTP_ headers or returning the server's own address. Corresponding fixes appear in both the 1.2.x and 1.3.x branches, and the project advisory together with the referenced commits detail the changes required to restore proper client IP validation.

The CVE carries a CVSS score of 9.8 and an EPSS score that has reached 0.9741, indicating sustained exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Cacti is an open source platform which provides a robust and extensible operational monitoring and fault management framework for users. In affected versions a command injection vulnerability allows an unauthenticated user to execute arbitrary code on a server running Cacti,…

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if a specific data source was selected for any monitored device. The vulnerability resides in the `remote_agent.php` file. This file can be accessed without authentication. This function retrieves the IP address of the client via `get_client_addr` and resolves this IP address to the corresponding hostname via `gethostbyaddr`. After this, it is verified that an entry within the `poller` table exists, where the hostname corresponds to the resolved hostname. If such an entry was found, the function returns `true` and the client is authorized. This authorization can be bypassed due to the implementation of the `get_client_addr` function. The function is defined in the file `lib/functions.php` and checks serval `$_SERVER` variables to determine the IP address of the client. The variables beginning with `HTTP_` can be arbitrarily set by an attacker. Since there is a default entry in the `poller` table with the hostname of the server running Cacti, an attacker can bypass the authentication e.g. by providing the header `Forwarded-For: <TARGETIP>`. This way the function `get_client_addr` returns the IP address of the server running Cacti. The following call to `gethostbyaddr` will resolve this IP address to the hostname of the server, which will pass the `poller` hostname check because of the default entry. After the authorization of the `remote_agent.php` file is bypassed, an attacker can trigger different actions. One of these actions is called `polldata`. The called function `poll_for_data` retrieves a few request parameters and loads the corresponding `poller_item` entries from the database. If the `action` of a `poller_item` equals `POLLER_ACTION_SCRIPT_PHP`, the function `proc_open` is used to execute a PHP script. The attacker-controlled parameter `$poller_id` is retrieved via the function `get_nfilter_request_var`, which allows arbitrary strings. This variable is later inserted into the string passed to `proc_open`, which leads to a command injection vulnerability. By e.g. providing the `poller_id=;id` the `id` command is executed. In order to reach the vulnerable call, the attacker must provide a `host_id` and `local_data_id`, where the `action` of the corresponding `poller_item` is set to `POLLER_ACTION_SCRIPT_PHP`. Both of these ids (`host_id` and `local_data_id`) can easily be bruteforced. The only requirement is that a `poller_item` with an `POLLER_ACTION_SCRIPT_PHP` action exists. This is very likely on a productive instance because this action is added by some predefined templates like `Device - Uptime` or `Device - Polling Time`. This command injection vulnerability allows an unauthenticated user to execute arbitrary commands if a `poller_item` with the `action` type `POLLER_ACTION_SCRIPT_PHP` (`2`) is configured. The authorization bypass should be prevented by not allowing an attacker to make `get_client_addr` (file `lib/functions.php`) return an arbitrary IP address. This could be done by not honoring the `HTTP_...` `$_SERVER` variables. If these should be kept for compatibility reasons it should at least be prevented to fake the IP address of the server running Cacti. This vulnerability has been addressed in both the 1.2.x and 1.3.x release branches with `1.2.23` being the first release containing the patch.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
16 February 2023

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1221 Template Injection Stealth
Adversaries may create or modify references in user document templates to conceal malicious code or force authentication attempts.
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-22604Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2026-39938Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2026-40079Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2023-39362Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2019-2725Shared CWE-74both on KEV
CVE-2023-22527Shared CWE-74both on KEV
CVE-2020-8468Shared CWE-74both on KEV
CVE-2020-17496Shared CWE-74both on KEV
CVE-2019-11581Shared CWE-74both on KEV
CVE-2019-17558Shared CWE-74both on KEV

Affected Assets

cacti
cacti
≤ 1.2.23

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3
  • 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.

addresses: CWE-863

Periodic review and update of procedures reduces incorrect authorization implementations over time.

addresses: CWE-863

Supervision identifies cases where authorization logic incorrectly permits unauthorized actions.

addresses: CWE-863

Defining permitted attribute values and auditing modifications reduces the chance of incorrect authorization outcomes due to tampered or missing labels.

addresses: CWE-863

The authorization process and usage restrictions help prevent incorrect authorization for remote access types.

addresses: CWE-863

Establishing configuration and connection requirements helps ensure correct rather than incorrect authorization for wireless access.

addresses: CWE-863

Establishing connection authorization processes for mobile devices helps ensure authorization decisions are correctly implemented rather than incorrect.

addresses: CWE-863

Monitoring account use, notifying on changes, and reviewing accounts for compliance corrects incorrect authorization assignments.

addresses: CWE-863

Ensures authorization decisions for external system use are correctly implemented and enforced.

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.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Defining, enforcing, and reviewing access authorizations and least privilege directly prevents incorrect authorization checks.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and output encoding that prevent injection flaws.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches injection vulnerabilities before release.

prevents

Requiring consistency between access rights and classification plus formal approval steps ensures that the authorization logic correctly distinguishes between entities that should and should not be granted access.

prevents

Enforcing policy-driven approval and role-change reviews stops incorrect or stale authorization decisions from remaining in effect after job changes or terminations.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging supports detection of injection attempts but does not prevent the weakness.

finds

Monitoring activities can identify active injection attacks after they occur.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevent injection flaws.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
  • V-252656 The OL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
  • V-204430 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must re-authenticate for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-251712 The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863

References