Vulnerability report

Active exploitation observed Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2023-1389

TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) Command Injection

TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) · All versions prior to version 1.14 Build 20230219

Watch CVE-2023-1389 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 8.8 · High
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Observed in sensors
EPSS
100.0%
First observed
11 Jun 2026
Last observed
19 Oct 2026

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2023-1389 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800). TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) firmware versions before 1.1.4 Build 20230219 contained a command injection vulnerability in the...

Is it exploited?

Yes. Previdian sensors observed exploitation attempts with confirmed confidence. Listed in CISA KEV. Also confirmed by third-party sources.

Who is affected?

TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) all versions prior to version 1.14 build 20230219.

What should we do?

Patch immediately, validate internet-facing exposure, and monitor for matching requests.

Overview

TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) Command Injection

TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) firmware versions before 1.1.4 Build 20230219 contained a command injection vulnerability in the country form of the /cgi-bin/luci;stok=/locale endpoint on the web management interface.

Specifically, the country parameter of the write operation was not sanitized before being used in a call to popen(), allowing an unauthenticated attacker to inject commands, which would be run as root, with a simple POST request.

n/a Affected
TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800)
All versions prior to version 1.14 Build 20230219
Published
15 Mar 2023
Exploitation Reported
26 Apr 2025
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

nessus_scanner cisa nuclei_scanner edge windows

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

The Shadowserver

Recorded 26 Apr 2025

A trusted third party reported exploitation.

Active exploitation observed

Previdian sensor

First observed 11 Jun 2026

Previdian first observed exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability in our honeypot sensors.

Proof of concept available

Nuclei Templates

Recorded 12 Jun 2026

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
CISA First 2023-05-01 00:00 UTC
The Shadowserver 2026-06-01 00:00 UTC
Previdian Sensors 2026-06-11 06:25 UTC
The Hacker News 2026-10-05 15:34 UTC

Operational indicators for this CVE are listed under Detection.

Sensor telemetry

First-party evidence of exploitation activity

Previdian sensors recorded exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability. The cards and chart show volume, unique attackers, and daily activity.

565

Attempts observed

35

Unique attacker IPs

16

Attacker countries

AR · BG · BR · CA · CH · CO · DE · FR · JP · KR · NL · SG · TM · UA · US · YE

66

Sensors observed

CVE-2023-1389 exploitation attempts over the last 91 days

Daily events observed by Previdian sensors

Updated 19 Oct 2026

6
8
6
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
3
0
5
6
4
4
7
9
4
3
11
21
6
11
3
5
6
6
12
13
6
4
7
5
9
5
7
4
6
9
14
3
9
16
7
7
8
8
11
8
11
7
13
8
15
12
15
12
9
9
8
9
13
9
6
14
14
13
11
14
8
9
8
21 Jul 9 Aug 28 Aug 16 Sep 19 Oct

First observed 11 Jun 2026 · Last observed 19 Oct 2026

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Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts
8
12
16

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

Previdian virtual patch guidance is available for this CVE.

AWS WAF Cloudflare ModSecurity

Attacker IP Indicators

Attacker IP indicators observed · available in Pro and Enterprise.

Sensor-derived attacker IP indicators are available to Pro and Enterprise accounts under Detection and through the Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Nuclei https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-1389.yaml 02 Jun 2025
Nessus https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/177632 02 Jun 2025

Virtual Patch Detail

Compensating WAF rules for this CVE.

Available

Enterprise feature. Virtual patch rule content and deployable vendor exports (ModSecurity, Cloudflare, AWS WAF) are available to Previdian Enterprise users.

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Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

8.8 High

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

100.0%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') CWE-77

Recent mention · The Hacker News

Realtek Jungle SDK Exploit Attempts Deliver Cling Botnet With STUN-Based C2

Ravie LakshmananOct 05, 2026Vulnerability / Malware Threat actors have been observed attempting to exploit a now-patched critical security flaw impacting the Realtek Jungle software development kit (SDK) to deploy a botnet malware called Cling. "Cling is notable not because...

Read full advisory

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX1800) - Unauthenticated Command Injection

nuclei · Created Unknown

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. 15:34 UTC

    KEV confirmed by The Hacker News

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  2. 14:21 UTC

    Virtual patch available

    Compensating WAF rule available to block exploitation

  3. 14:20 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  4. 06:25 UTC

    Indicators of compromise added (45)

    Indicators of compromise recorded

  5. 06:25 UTC

    Observed by Previdian sensors

    Evidence-backed exploitation signal

  6. 00:00 UTC

    KEV confirmed by The Shadowserver

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  7. 14:11 UTC

    Nuclei template available

    Scanner coverage available

  8. 09:26 UTC

    Nessus plugin available

    Scanner coverage available

  9. 00:00 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  10. 00:00 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  11. 00:00 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

Start 14-day Pro trial Read API docs
  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2023-1389

Sample API response 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2023-1389",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 8.8,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.99999,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": true
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 565, "sensors": 66 }
}