CVE-2023-4542

What is this vulnerability?

CVE-2023-4542 is categorized as a medium OS Command Injection flaw with a CVSS base score of 6.3. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.

A vulnerability was found in D-Link DAR-8000-10 up to 20230809. It has been classified as critical. This affects an unknown part of the file /app/sys1.php. The manipulation of the argument cmd with the input id leads to os command injection. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The associated identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-238047. NOTE: The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.

Risk Assessment

Impact on Systems

✅ Data Exfiltration: Attackers can extract sensitive data from backend databases, configuration files, or internal services.

✅ Authentication Bypass: Exploiting this flaw may allow unauthorized access to protected resources and administrative interfaces.

✅ Lateral Movement: Once initial access is gained, attackers can pivot to internal systems and escalate privileges.

How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2023-4542

1. Apply Vendor Patches: Upgrade affected components to their latest, non-vulnerable versions immediately.
2. Implement Input Validation: Ensure all user-supplied data is validated, sanitized, and type-checked before processing.
3. Deploy Runtime Protection: Use Precogs continuous monitoring to detect exploitation attempts in real time.
4. Audit Dependencies: Review and update all third-party libraries and transitive dependencies.

Defending with Precogs AI

D-Link DAR-8000-10 devices contain a command injection vulnerability. Unauthenticated remote attackers inject shell commands via the web management interface to achieve remote code execution as root. Precogs Application Security Module maps untrusted parameters directly to OS execution sinks.

Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.

Start scanning with Precogs →

Vulnerability Code Signature

Attack Data Flow

Vulnerable Code Pattern

// ❌ VULNERABLE: OS command injection
const { exec } = require('child_process');
function pingHost(host) {
  // Taint sink: unvalidated host string executed in shell
  exec('ping -c 4 ' + host, (error, stdout, stderr) => {
    console.log(stdout);
  });
}

Secure Code Pattern

// ✅ SECURE: ExecFile with parameter arrays
const { execFile } = require('child_process');
function pingHost(host) {
  // Sanitized execution: arguments passed safely, bypassing shell interpolation
  execFile('ping', ['-c', '4', host], (error, stdout, stderr) => {
    console.log(stdout);
  });
}

How Precogs Detects This

Precogs AI Analysis Engine natively intercepts unsafe OS command execution sinks, ensuring all arguments are properly separated from the execution context.\n