Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-28343

RCE in Apsystems Energy Communication Unit Firmware c1.2.5

Public PoCHigh EPSSRCECommand Injection
Published
14 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View 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 0.85 99.7th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-28343 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Apsystems Energy Communication Unit Firmware. 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 0.3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV 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-2023-28343 is an OS command injection vulnerability affecting Altenergy Power Control Software version C1.2.5. The flaw resides in the set_timezone function in models/management_model.php, which fails to sanitize shell metacharacters supplied in the timezone parameter to the index.php/management/set_timezone endpoint.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue over the network by submitting a crafted HTTP request containing malicious metacharacters. Successful exploitation grants arbitrary operating-system command execution with full impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, consistent with the CVSS 9.8 rating and CWE-78 classification.

Public proof-of-concept code demonstrating the injection has been published on Packet Storm and GitHub. The associated EPSS score has reached a peak of 0.9663 and currently stands at 0.9379, indicating sustained exploitation interest following disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

OS command injection affects Altenergy Power Control Software C1.2.5 via shell metacharacters in the index.php/management/set_timezone timezone parameter, because of set_timezone in models/management_model.php.

CWE(s)
CWE-78

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.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
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.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-45699Same vendor: Apsystems
CVE-2024-0292Shared CWE-78
CVE-2023-40479Shared CWE-78
CVE-2025-33206Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-32608Shared CWE-78
CVE-2024-9916Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-8665Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-71950Shared CWE-78
CVE-2024-32123Shared CWE-78
CVE-2024-0298Shared CWE-78

Affected Assets

apsystems
energy communication unit firmware
c1.2.5

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
  • V15.2.5

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
prevents

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
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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

References