CVE-2013-4656
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedSymlink Traversal vulnerability in ASUS RT-AC66U and RT-N56U due to misconfiguration in the SMB service.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA symlink traversal vulnerability exists in the SMB service of ASUS RT-AC66U and RT-N56U routers due to misconfiguration. This allows remote attackers to traverse symlinks and access arbitrary files on the device filesystem via the SMB protocol, potentially exposing sensitive configuration data, credentials, or other system files.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify router modelAccess the router's web administration interface (typically at 192.168.1.1) and check the device info page, or log into the router via CLI and run 'nvram get model' or check the device label on the router hardwareAffected if The router model is ASUS RT-AC66U or RT-N56U
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Verify SMB service is enabledLog into the router's web interface, navigate to USB/Storage settings or SMB configuration, and check if the SMB file sharing service is turned onAffected if SMB service is enabled on the router
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Confirm firmware versionIn the router's web interface, go to Firmware Version or Administration > Firmware Upgrade section to view the installed firmware build numberAffected if Any firmware version is installed on an affected model (all versions are vulnerable)
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Assess SMB network exposureCheck if the SMB service is accessible from the WAN/internet side or from untrusted networks by reviewing access control settings in the router's SMB configurationAffected if SMB service is accessible from untrusted network segments
If the router is an ASUS RT-AC66U or RT-N56U with SMB service enabled, the device is affected by this vulnerability regardless of firmware version.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedApply available firmware updates from ASUS for the affected router models. If no update is available, consider disabling the SMB service or restricting network access to trusted users.
These legacy routers are end-of-life with no further firmware releases. Replace with a currently-supported router model.
- These ASUS RT-AC66U and RT-N56U routers from 2013 are end-of-life and no longer receive firmware updates from ASUS.
- Disable the SMB service on the router through the web interface under USB & Networking settings.
- If SMB is required, ensure SMB signing is enforced and restrict access to local network only.
- Consider replacing these legacy devices with currently-supported routers that receive regular security updates.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-4656 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-4656 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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