dbcve.org
M2 FirmwareOperating system · Motorola

CVE-2019-9121

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-03-07
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 issue was discovered on Motorola C1 and M2 devices with firmware 1.01 and 1.07 respectively. This issue is a Command Injection allowing a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code, and get a root shell. A command Injection vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via a crafted /HNAP1 POST request. This occurs when any HNAP API function triggers a call to the system function with untrusted input from the request body for the SetSmartQoSSettings API function, as demonstrated by shell metacharacters in the smartqos_priority_devices field.

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 in Motorola C1 and M2 routers (firmware 1.01/1.07) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands as root via the SetSmartQoSSettings HNAP API function. Untrusted input from the smartqos_priority_devices field in /HNAP1 POST requests is passed to the system function without sanitization, enabling shell metacharacter injection.

MitigationApply vendor firmware updates if available; otherwise, disable the HNAP service or isolate affected devices on a restricted network segment to reduce exposure.

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
M2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.07
C1 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.01

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 router model
    Check the device label or web administration interface to confirm the device is a Motorola M2 or Motorola C1 router.
    Affected if The device is a Motorola M2 or C1 router.
  2. Check firmware version
    Access the router's web admin panel (typically at 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1) and navigate to the Status or Administration section to view the firmware version. Alternatively, check the device documentation or firmware file metadata.
    Affected if Firmware version is 1.07 on Motorola M2 or 1.01 on Motorola C1.
  3. Verify HNAP service is accessible
    Attempt to access the HNAP endpoint by sending a GET request to http://<router-ip>/HNAP1/ or check if the router's admin interface exposes HNAP functionality. This service is typically enabled by default on affected firmware versions.
    Affected if The HNAP service responds to requests, indicating it is enabled.
  4. Confirm SetSmartQoS functionality exists
    Check if the router web interface includes QoS settings or SmartQoS configuration options under the Advanced or Bandwidth settings. The vulnerability exists in the SetSmartQoSSettings HNAP API function.
    Affected if SmartQoS or QoS configuration features are present and accessible in the router interface.
  5. Inspect HTTP response for HNAP API
    Send a probe request to /HNAP1/ and examine the response headers or body for HNAP1 SOAPAction or XML schema references. The vulnerability is exploitable via POST requests to this endpoint with the SetSmartQoSSettings action.
    Affected if The /HNAP1 endpoint returns HNAP-specific responses indicating the service is active.

A user is affected if they are running a Motorola M2 router on firmware 1.07 or a Motorola C1 router on firmware 1.01, with the HNAP service enabled and accessible on the network.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor firmware updates if available; otherwise, disable the HNAP service or isolate affected devices on a restricted network segment to reduce exposure.

Fix this in M2 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2019-9121 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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