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Rp Ac52 FirmwareOperating system · Asus

CVE-2016-6558

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-07-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.0.1.1s or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
A command injection vulnerability exists in apply.cgi on the ASUS RP-AC52 access point, firmware version 1.0.1.1s and possibly earlier, web interface specifically in the action_script parameter. The action_script parameter specifies a script to be executed if the action_mode parameter does not contain a valid state. If the input provided by action_script does not match one of the hard coded options, then it will be executed as the argument of either a system() or an eval() call allowing arbitrary commands to be executed.

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 · high confidence

Command injection vulnerability in ASUS RP-AC52 wireless access point firmware (version 1.0.1.1s and earlier). The apply.cgi script improperly handles the action_script parameter - when the action_mode parameter does not contain a valid state, the action_script value is passed to system() or eval() without sanitization, allowing unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands.

MitigationApply vendor firmware update if available; if no update exists due to end-of-life status, replace the device and implement network segmentation to isolate legacy embedded devices from critical infrastructure.

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 data
Rp Ac52 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 1.0.1.1s
Ea N66 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Rp N12 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Rp N14 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Rp N53 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Rp Ac56 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Wmp N12 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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:3.0/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the ASUS device model
    Access the device web interface or check the device label/metadata to confirm the exact model number (RP-AC52, EA-N66, RP-N12, RP-N14, RP-N53, RP-AC56, or WMP-N12)
    Affected if The device is any of these seven models: RP-AC52, EA-N66, RP-N12, RP-N14, RP-N53, RP-AC56, or WMP-N12
  2. Check RP-AC52 firmware version
    Log into the device web interface and navigate to the Administration or System section to view the firmware version. Alternatively, check the download page or release notes from ASUS support for the installed firmware build number
    Affected if For RP-AC52: firmware version is 1.0.1.1s or earlier
  3. Confirm all other models are affected
    For EA-N66, RP-N12, RP-N14, RP-N53, RP-AC56, or WMP-N12: verify the device is running any firmware version (no version check needed)
    Affected if For these six models: any firmware version at all
  4. Verify web interface is accessible
    Attempt to access the device HTTP/HTTPS web management interface from the network. Confirm the apply.cgi script exists by attempting to access http://[device-ip]/apply.cgi
    Affected if The web interface is reachable on the network (the vulnerability is in the apply.cgi script and requires the web server to be running)

If the device is an ASUS RP-AC52 with firmware <= 1.0.1.1s, or any other listed model (EA-N66, RP-N12, RP-N14, RP-N53, RP-AC56, WMP-N12) with any firmware version, and the web management interface is accessible, the device is affected by this command injection vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.0.1.1s
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor firmware update if available; if no update exists due to end-of-life status, replace the device and implement network segmentation to isolate legacy embedded devices from critical infrastructure.

Fix this in Rp Ac52 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-6558 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data