Overview
The Common Vulnerability and Exposure (CVE) identifier CVE-2013-3307 refers to a critical security flaw found in certain versions of Linksys routers. This vulnerability affects E1000 devices through version 2.1.02, E1200 devices before version 2.0.05, and E3200 devices through version 1.0.04. This security issue allows attackers to inject operating system commands via shell metacharacters in the apply.cgi ping_ip parameter on TCP port 52000. The severity of this vulnerability is underscored by its potential to lead to a full system compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2013-3307
Severity: High (8.3 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise, data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Linksys E1000 | Versions up to 2.1.02
Linksys E1200 | Versions before 2.0.05
Linksys E3200 | Versions up to 1.0.04
How the Exploit Works
The exploit takes advantage of a security oversight in the web interface of the affected Linksys routers. More specifically, it exploits the routers’ lack of proper input sanitization in the apply.cgi ping_ip parameter, which allows for the injection of shell metacharacters. An attacker can use these metacharacters to inject and execute arbitrary OS commands. The attack can be initiated remotely over the network without requiring any privileges or user interaction, making this a particularly dangerous vulnerability.
Conceptual Example Code
The following is a conceptual example of a malicious HTTP request exploiting this vulnerability:
POST /apply.cgi HTTP/1.1
Host: <Router IP>:52000
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
ping_ip=;cat /etc/passwd;In this example, the attacker sends a POST request to the apply.cgi endpoint on the router’s web interface. The “ping_ip” parameter is set to a command that, when executed, will return the contents of the /etc/passwd file, potentially revealing sensitive system information. Note that this is a simplified example, the actual attack may involve more complex commands and require further knowledge of the target system.