Security Resilience

CVE-2023-50651

RCE in Totolink X6000R Firmware 9.4.0cu.852_b20230719

Public PoCRCECommand Injection
Published
30 December 2023
Modified
09 July 2026
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 0.028 86th percentile
Risk Priority 78 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-2023-50651 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Totolink X6000R Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); ranked in the top 14% 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.

TOTOLINK X6000R firmware version v9.4.0cu.852_B20230719 contains a remote command execution vulnerability in the /cgi-bin/cstecgi.cgi component. The issue is tracked as CVE-2023-50651 with a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 and is classified under CWE-78, indicating improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command.

An unauthenticated attacker with network access can supply crafted input to the affected CGI endpoint and execute arbitrary commands on the device. Successful exploitation grants full control over the router, allowing confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts without requiring user interaction or credentials.

The associated EPSS score rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0542 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current value of 0.0287, indicating increased exploitation interest after public disclosure. Vendor references point to totolink.com and a detailed Notion disclosure page, though no official patch or mitigation guidance is provided in the available sources.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

TOTOLINK X6000R v9.4.0cu.852_B20230719 was discovered to contain a remote command execution (RCE) vulnerability via the component /cgi-bin/cstecgi.cgi.

CWE(s)
CWE-78

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.004 SSH Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.008 Direct Cloud VM Connections Lateral Movement
Adversaries may leverage [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1027.001 Binary Padding Stealth
Adversaries may use binary padding to add junk data and change the on-disk representation of malware.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-48811Same product: Totolink X6000R
CVE-2023-48802Same product: Totolink X6000R
CVE-2023-48808Same product: Totolink X6000R
CVE-2023-48800Same product: Totolink X6000R
CVE-2024-52723Same product: Totolink X6000R
CVE-2025-52906Same product: Totolink X6000R
CVE-2024-2353Same product: Totolink X6000R
CVE-2023-48805Same product: Totolink X6000R
CVE-2023-48806Same product: Totolink X6000R
CVE-2023-48812Same product: Totolink X6000R

Affected Assets

totolink
x6000r firmware
9.4.0cu.852_b20230719

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

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
blocks

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
blocks

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.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

References