Security Resilience

CVE-2023-28703

Memory Safety in Asus Rt-Ac86U Firmware 3.0.0.4.386.51255

Memory Safety
Published
02 June 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 7.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0089 58th percentile
Risk Priority 54 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-2023-28703 is a high-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Asus Rt-Ac86U Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow (T1003.008); ranked in the top 42% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

ASUS RT-AC86U’s specific cgi function has a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability due to insufficient validation for network packet header length. A remote attacker with administrator privileges can exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary system commands, disrupt system or terminate service.

CWE(s)
CWE-121

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump the contents of <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/shadow</code> to enable offline password cracking.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1012 Query Registry Discovery
Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.002 Wi-Fi Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may search for information about Wi-Fi networks, such as network names and passwords, on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1020 Automated Exfiltration Exfiltration
Adversaries may exfiltrate data, such as sensitive documents, through the use of automated processing after being gathered during Collection.
attack.mitre.org →
T1020.001 Traffic Duplication Exfiltration
Adversaries may leverage traffic mirroring in order to automate data exfiltration over compromised infrastructure.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-39237Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U
CVE-2023-28702Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U
CVE-2023-38032Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U
CVE-2023-38031Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U
CVE-2023-39236Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U
CVE-2023-38033Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U
CVE-2023-35087Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U
CVE-2023-35086Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U
CVE-2023-39239Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U
CVE-2023-39240Same product: Asus Rt-Ac86U

Affected Assets

asus
rt-ac86u firmware
3.0.0.4.386.51255

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

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.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure-development practices directly prevent introduction of stack buffer overflows.

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

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` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248594 OL 8 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution. blocks CWE-121
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. blocks CWE-121

References