Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-44221

RCE in Sonicwall Sma 200 Firmware ≤ 10.2.1.9-57sv

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedRCECommand Injection
Published
05 December 2023
Modified
31 October 2025
KEV Added
01 May 2025
Patch / 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 0.75 99.5th percentile
Risk Priority 79 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-44221 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Sonicwall Sma 200 Firmware. 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 0.5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

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-2023-44221 is an OS command injection vulnerability (CWE-78) affecting the SMA100 SSL-VPN management interface. It stems from improper neutralization of special elements and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.2. The flaw permits a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands under the 'nobody' user account.

A remote authenticated attacker holding administrative privileges can exploit the issue over the network without user interaction to achieve high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The attack requires administrative credentials on the management interface and results in command execution limited to the 'nobody' context.

SonicWall's PSIRT advisory SNWLID-2023-0018 addresses the vulnerability, and the entry appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. The associated EPSS score has remained flat at a peak of 0.2307 since disclosure, indicating steady but not sharply increasing exploitation interest.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Improper neutralization of special elements in the SMA100 SSL-VPN management interface allows a remote authenticated attacker with administrative privilege to inject arbitrary commands as a 'nobody' user, potentially leading to OS Command Injection Vulnerability.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
01 May 2025

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.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell 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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2021-20035Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200both on KEV
CVE-2021-20039Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200
CVE-2025-32821Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200
CVE-2021-20038Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200both on KEV
CVE-2021-20016Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200both on KEV
CVE-2024-45318Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200
CVE-2024-40763Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200
CVE-2024-53703Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200
CVE-2024-22395Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200
CVE-2023-5970Same product: Sonicwall Sma 200

Affected Assets

sonicwall
sma 200 firmware
≤ 10.2.1.9-57sv
sonicwall
sma 210 firmware
≤ 10.2.1.9-57sv
sonicwall
sma 400 firmware
≤ 10.2.1.9-57sv
sonicwall
sma 410 firmware
≤ 10.2.1.9-57sv
sonicwall
sma 500v firmware
≤ 10.2.1.9-57sv

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.

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.

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.

finds

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

References