CVE-2023-1389
Command Injection in Tp-Link Archer Ax21 Firmware ≤ 1.1.4
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-1389 is a high-severity Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Tp-Link Archer Ax21 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, 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.
CVE-2023-1389 is a command injection vulnerability affecting TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) wireless routers running firmware versions prior to 1.1.4 Build 20230219. The flaw resides in the web management interface at the /cgi-bin/luci;stok=/locale endpoint, where the country parameter supplied to the write operation is passed directly to a popen() call without sanitization, enabling arbitrary command execution.
An unauthenticated attacker with adjacent network access can exploit the issue by sending a crafted POST request containing shell commands in the country field. Successful exploitation grants the attacker root-level code execution on the device, allowing full control over the router's configuration, traffic, and connected clients.
Public advisories and exploit references, including entries from Tenable and CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicate that the primary mitigation is to update the device firmware to version 1.1.4 Build 20230219 or later, which addresses the unsanitized input path.
The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 8.8 and an EPSS score that has reached 0.93, and its presence in the CISA KEV catalog confirms observed real-world exploitation.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-23645
Vulnerability Data
TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) firmware versions before 1.1.4 Build 20230219 contained a command injection vulnerability in the country form of the /cgi-bin/luci;stok=/locale endpoint on the web management interface. Specifically, the country parameter of the write operation was not sanitized before…
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being used in a call to popen(), allowing an unauthenticated attacker to inject commands, which would be run as root, with a simple POST request.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 01 May 2023
Related Threats
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Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
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.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices including secure coding guidelines, security requirements, checkpoints, testing (scans/penetration), and developer training that reduce command injection defects, but leaves a minority slice (e.g. incomplete implementation of those practices, outsourced development without full assurance, or post-SDLC changes) where the weakness can still arise and be exploitable.
Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection flaws including command injection.
A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles (e.g. distrust external input, secure session control, data validation/sanitization, least privilege) and design reviews that can stop command injection from being introduced, but this is only a minority slice of CWE-77 because the weakness can still arise in code that bypasses those principles, in non-reviewed components, or in runtime injection vectors the architecture review does not reach.
Secure coding standards require proper escaping and parameterization of commands, directly eliminating CWE-77.
Security testing in development catches command-injection vulnerabilities before release.
Hardening callouts derived
DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.
- No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-77, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.