Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-39362

RCE in Fedoraproject Fedora 37 … 38

Public PoCHigh EPSSRCECommand Injection
Published
05 September 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
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 0.82 99.6th percentile
Risk Priority 79 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-39362 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 0.4% 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.

Cacti 1.2.24 contains a command-injection vulnerability in the SNMP handling routines located in lib/snmp.php. Several functions accept values supplied through a device’s SNMP options and insert them directly into operating-system exec calls without escaping or validation, enabling an attacker to break out of the intended command and execute arbitrary shell instructions on the underlying host.

An authenticated user holding administrative privileges on the Cacti instance can exploit the flaw by placing a suitably crafted string in the SNMP options field of any monitored device. Successful injection yields remote code execution with the privileges of the Cacti process, giving the attacker full control over the monitoring server.

The vulnerability is resolved in Cacti 1.2.25; the project advisory states there are no workarounds and explicitly recommends upgrading. Downstream distributions including Debian LTS and Fedora have published corresponding package updates that apply the same fix. The EPSS score for the issue is currently 0.8723, and public proof-of-concept code has been posted to Packet Storm.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Cacti is an open source operational monitoring and fault management framework. In Cacti 1.2.24, under certain conditions, an authenticated privileged user, can use a malicious string in the SNMP options of a Device, performing command injection and obtaining remote code…

more

execution on the underlying server. The `lib/snmp.php` file has a set of functions, with similar behavior, that accept in input some variables and place them into an `exec` call without a proper escape or validation. This issue has been addressed in version 1.2.25. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

CWE(s)
CWE-78CWE-77

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 →
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 →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.008 Network Device CLI Execution
Adversaries may abuse scripting or built-in command line interpreters (CLI) on network devices to execute malicious command and payloads.
attack.mitre.org →
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-2022-46169Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2023-34153Same product: Fedoraproject Fedora
CVE-2020-8813Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2023-5002Same product: Fedoraproject Fedora
CVE-2021-3781Same product: Fedoraproject Fedora
CVE-2025-10774Shared CWE-77, CWE-78
CVE-2026-2188Shared CWE-77, CWE-78

Affected Assets

cacti
cacti
≤ 1.2.25
fedoraproject
fedora
37, 38

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)
  • V1.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V1.2.9

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.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of software and data can detect anomalous command execution resulting from injection.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Identifying recorded vulnerabilities enables remediation of command-injection flaws before exploitation.

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.8.28 Secure coding mostly match
prevents

Secure coding standards require proper escaping and parameterization of commands, directly eliminating CWE-77.

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.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and command construction practices that directly prevent command injection.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection flaws including command injection.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles reduce the attack surface but do not prescribe the specific neutralization techniques needed.

A.8.31 Separation of development, test and production environments none match
none

Environment separation limits the blast radius of an exploited command injection but does not prevent the flaw itself.

References