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Awk 3131a FirmwareOperating system · Moxa

CVE-2017-14459

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
An exploitable OS Command Injection vulnerability exists in the Telnet, SSH, and console login functionality of Moxa AWK-3131A Industrial IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n wireless AP/bridge/client in firmware versions 1.4 to 1.7 (current). An attacker can inject commands via the username parameter of several services (SSH, Telnet, console), resulting in remote, unauthenticated, root-level operating system command execution.

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

Critical OS command injection vulnerability in Moxa AWK-3131A industrial wireless AP/bridge/client devices (firmware 1.4-1.7). Attackers can inject arbitrary OS commands through the username parameter in SSH, Telnet, and console login services, achieving unauthenticated root-level command execution.

MitigationApply vendor firmware patch when available; meanwhile, disable or restrict access to exposed Telnet/SSH services via firewall rules, implement IP whitelisting, and place affected devices behind network segmentation to limit attack surface.

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
Awk 3131a FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4= 1.5= 1.6= 1.7

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 device model
    Access the device web interface, console, or check physical labeling to confirm the hardware is an Moxa AWK-3131A industrial wireless AP/bridge/client
    Affected if The device is an AWK-3131A model
  2. Check the installed firmware version
    Log into the device web interface under System > Firmware or use the console and run 'show firmware-version' to determine the exact firmware build
    Affected if Firmware version equals 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, or 1.7
  3. Determine if SSH service is enabled
    Check the device configuration under Network > SSH or run 'show ssh' from console to see if the SSH service is turned on
    Affected if SSH service is enabled and accessible
  4. Determine if Telnet service is enabled
    Check the device configuration under Network > Telnet or run 'show telnet' from console to see if the Telnet service is turned on
    Affected if Telnet service is enabled and accessible
  5. Verify network exposure of login services
    Scan the device IP address on ports 22 (SSH) and 23 (Telnet) using nmap or similar tool to confirm these services are reachable from the network
    Affected if SSH or Telnet ports are open and reachable from untrusted networks

You are affected if the device is an AWK-3131A running firmware version 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, or 1.7 with SSH or Telnet services enabled and accessible.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor firmware patch when available; meanwhile, disable or restrict access to exposed Telnet/SSH services via firewall rules, implement IP whitelisting, and place affected devices behind network segmentation to limit attack surface.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available AWK-3131A firmware (version 1.9 or later)

  1. 1. Download the latest firmware version from the official Moxa support website (moxa.com) for the AWK-3131A device
  2. 2. Review the firmware release notes to confirm the security fix for CVE-2017-14459 is included
  3. 3. Backup the current device configuration before proceeding with firmware update
  4. 4. Upload and install the new firmware through the Moxa AWK-3131A web interface or management console
  5. 5. After firmware upgrade, verify that the device is accessible and functioning normally
  6. 6. Test that the command injection vulnerability is no longer exploitable by attempting the documented attack vector with the username parameter
Caveat Review Moxa release notes for any configuration or feature changes between version 1.7 and the target upgrade version before deploying in production

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Awk 3131a Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,200
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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-2017-14459 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data