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OS Command InjectionWeakness · CWE-78

CVE-2021-4470

CRITICAL · 9.3 CVSS v4.0 Published 2025-11-14
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
TG8 Firewall contains a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in the runphpcmd.php endpoint. The syscmd POST parameter is passed directly to a system command without validation and executed with root privileges. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can supply crafted values to execute arbitrary operating system commands as root, resulting in full device compromise.

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

TG8 Firewall contains a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in the runphpcmd.php endpoint. The syscmd POST parameter is passed directly to a system command without any input validation and executed with root privileges, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands with full root access.

MitigationImmediately block or restrict access to the runphpcmd.php endpoint at the network edge or web server level. Apply vendor security patches if available and consider network segmentation to limit exposure of the management interface.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
Authentication
X
User interaction
None
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

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. Locate the runphpcmd.php file
    Search the web server document root for the file runphpcmd.php (e.g., find /var/www -name 'runphpcmd.php' or check common paths like /admin/runphpcmd.php, /php/runphpcmd.php)
    Affected if The file exists on the system, indicating the vulnerable endpoint is present
  2. Verify web server serves the vulnerable endpoint
    Attempt an HTTP request to the runphpcmd.php endpoint (e.g., curl -X POST http://[target]/runphpcmd.php with a test parameter). A 200 response or PHP error indicates the script is accessible.
    Affected if The endpoint responds to HTTP requests, meaning it is exposed via the web server
  3. Confirm network exposure of the management interface
    Check if the TG8 Firewall web interface port (typically 443, 8443, or HTTP port 80) is accessible from untrusted networks. Use nmap or netstat to identify open management ports and verify access controls.
    Affected if The web management interface including runphpcmd.php is reachable from the internet or untrusted networks without authentication restrictions
  4. Check for external network access controls
    Review firewall rules, ACLs, or network segmentation that control access to the TG8 management interface. Verify if the web interface is restricted to internal networks or authorized admin IPs only.
    Affected if No network-level restrictions exist and the interface is publicly accessible
  5. Inspect the runphpcmd.php for vulnerability signature
    If file access is available, examine the contents of runphpcmd.php and look for direct use of the syscmd POST parameter in shell execution functions (e.g., exec(), shell_exec(), system()) without input validation or authentication checks.
    Affected if The script contains direct system command execution using the syscmd parameter without sanitization or auth validation

A system is affected if the runphpcmd.php file exists and is accessible via the network without authentication, allowing unauthenticated remote command execution with root privileges.

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

Immediately block or restrict access to the runphpcmd.php endpoint at the network edge or web server level. Apply vendor security patches if available and consider network segmentation to limit exposure of the management interface.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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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-2021-4470 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