Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-5154

Medium

Published: 25 September 2023

Published
25 September 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
KEV Added
Patch
CVSS Score v3.1 6.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
EPSS Score 0.7997 99.1th percentile
Risk Priority 61 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2023-5154 is a medium-severity Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type (CWE-434) vulnerability in Dlink Dar-8000 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 6.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.9% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis

CVE-2023-5154 is an unrestricted file upload vulnerability, tracked under CWE-434, that affects the D-Link DAR-8000 network device in firmware versions up to 20151231. The flaw resides in the file_upload argument of /sysmanage/changelogo.php and permits an attacker to upload arbitrary files without sufficient validation. The issue was assigned a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.3 and is explicitly marked “UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED” because the product reached end-of-life status years earlier.

An authenticated remote attacker with low privileges can send a crafted HTTP request to the affected endpoint and place malicious files on the device, resulting in limited but direct impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Public exploit code demonstrating the upload has been released on GitHub, confirming that the attack requires no user interaction and can be launched over the network.

D-Link’s support announcement SAP10354 and direct vendor correspondence confirm that the DAR-8000 series is no longer maintained; the vendor advises immediate retirement and replacement rather than patching. No official firmware update is available.

The EPSS score currently stands at 0.7997, matching its observed peak, indicating sustained exploitation interest after public disclosure of the proof-of-concept.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

** UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED ** A vulnerability has been found in D-Link DAR-8000 up to 20151231 and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file /sysmanage/changelogo.php. The manipulation of the argument file_upload leads to unrestricted upload. The…

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attack can be initiated remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. VDB-240250 is the identifier assigned to this vulnerability. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer. NOTE: Vendor was contacted early and confirmed immediately that the product is end-of-life. It should be retired and replaced.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

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.
T1505.003 Web Shell Persistence
Adversaries may backdoor web servers with web shells to establish persistent access to systems.
T1608.002 Upload Tool Resource Development
Adversaries may upload tools to third-party or adversary controlled infrastructure to make it accessible during targeting.
Why these techniques?

Unrestricted file upload in public-facing web endpoint (/sysmanage/changelogo.php) enables exploitation of public-facing application (T1190), deployment of web shells via uploaded malicious scripts (T1505.003), and staging of tools or malware on the device (T1608.002).

Affected Assets

dlink
dar-8000 firmware
≤ 2015-12-31

Mitigating Controls

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-434

Requiring identifiable owners for portable devices reduces the attack surface for unrestricted uploads of dangerous file types via anonymous media.

addresses: CWE-434

Dangerous file uploads can be detonated in the chamber to determine malice before any production write or execution occurs.

addresses: CWE-434

Prevents unrestricted writing of arbitrary or malicious firmware by keeping hardware write-protect enabled except under tightly controlled manual procedures.

addresses: CWE-434

Scans files from external sources on download/open/execute, blocking unrestricted uploads of dangerous file types.

References