Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-46456

Gl-Inet Gl-Ar300M Firmware 3.216

Published
12 December 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 0.25 98th percentile
Risk Priority 85 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-46456 is a critical-severity Injection (CWE-74) vulnerability in Gl-Inet Gl-Ar300M Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV 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-2023-46456 is a command injection vulnerability (CWE-74) affecting GL.iNET GL-AR300M routers running firmware version 3.216. The flaw resides in the OpenVPN client file upload functionality and permits injection of arbitrary shell commands. It carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, and no required privileges or user interaction.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can supply a malicious OpenVPN configuration file to the affected device and thereby execute arbitrary commands on the underlying system. Successful exploitation grants complete control over the router, enabling full read/write access to device resources and disruption of availability.

Public references consist of a technical disclosure at cyberaz0r.info and the vendor site at gl-inet.com; administrators should review those sources for any available firmware updates or configuration guidance. The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.1395 with no material increase since publication.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In GL.iNET GL-AR300M routers with firmware 3.216 it is possible to inject arbitrary shell commands through the OpenVPN client file upload functionality.

CWE(s)
CWE-74

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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 →
T1221 Template Injection Stealth
Adversaries may create or modify references in user document templates to conceal malicious code or force authentication attempts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
attack.mitre.org →
T1674 Input Injection Execution
Adversaries may simulate keystrokes on a victim’s computer by various means to perform any type of action on behalf of the user, such as launching the command interpreter using keyboard shortcuts, typing an inline script to be executed,…
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-39227Same vendor: Gl-Inet
CVE-2023-23749Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-48835Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-51939Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-33242Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-4157Shared CWE-74
CVE-2024-28191Shared CWE-74
CVE-2022-2992Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-44373Shared CWE-74
CVE-2020-9757Shared CWE-74

Affected Assets

gl-inet
gl-ar300m firmware
3.216

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)
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

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.

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation
addresses: CWE-74

Developer assessments and testing (including injection-focused techniques) identify improper neutralization of special elements, and the verifiable flaw remediation corrects them pre-deployment.

SI-4 System Monitoring
addresses: CWE-74

Identifies indicators of injection attacks (command, SQL, LDAP, etc.) via anomaly and attack monitoring.

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

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and output encoding that prevent injection flaws.

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 in development catches injection vulnerabilities before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging supports detection of injection attempts but does not prevent the weakness.

A.8.16 Monitoring activities partial match
finds

Monitoring activities can identify active injection attacks after they occur.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevent injection flaws.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection attacks in software design.

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

Secure architecture principles reduce injection surfaces but do not prescribe specific neutralization techniques.

References