Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2025-13189 is a high-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Dlink Dir-816L Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.4 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 44% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
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-2025-13189 is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the D-Link DIR-816L router running firmware version 2_06_b09_beta. The issue resides in the genacgi_main function within the gena.cgi file, where manipulation of the SERVER_ID or HTTP_SID arguments triggers the overflow. Associated with CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) and CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow), it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to its potential for remote exploitation.
An attacker with low privileges and network access can exploit this vulnerability remotely without user interaction. By sending crafted requests targeting the vulnerable arguments, they can trigger the buffer overflow, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution with high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk for affected devices.
Advisories from VulDB note that the vulnerability only impacts products no longer supported by D-Link, implying no official patches or firmware updates are available. The GitHub reference provides a detailed proof-of-concept exploit in PDF form, while the D-Link website offers no specific mitigation guidance for this EOL device. Security practitioners should prioritize network segmentation, exposure monitoring, and device replacement for any remaining DIR-816L instances.
In context, this vulnerability highlights ongoing risks in legacy IoT devices, with public exploit availability likely enabling widespread targeting of unpatched routers in real-world scenarios.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-197687
Vulnerability Data
A vulnerability has been found in D-Link DIR-816L 2_06_b09_beta. This affects the function genacgi_main of the file gena.cgi. The manipulation of the argument SERVER_ID/HTTP_SID leads to stack-based buffer overflow. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. The exploit…
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has been disclosed to the public and may be used. This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
V17.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and analysis can discover stack-buffer overflows before deployment.
Input validation directly stops untrusted data from exceeding stack buffer bounds.
Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability to execute injected code after a stack overflow.
Secure engineering principles require memory-safe design and coding that structurally avoids buffer-boundary violations.
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.
Secure SDLC practices (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.
Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.
Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.
Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.
Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.
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.
Security testing in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.
Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.
Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.
Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.
Change-management gates can enforce security reviews that catch buffer issues.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248594 OL 8 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution. prevents CWE-121
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
- V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. prevents CWE-121