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Tl Wr940n FirmwareOperating system · Tp Link

CVE-2022-24973

HIGH · 8.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
82/100
Remediation priority · High
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
This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of TP-Link TL-WR940N 3.20.1 Build 200316 Rel.34392n (5553) routers. Authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the httpd service, which listens on TCP port 80 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-13992.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow in the httpd service of TP-Link TL-WR940N routers (firmware version 3.20.1 Build 200316). An authenticated, network-adjacent attacker can send oversize data to the web interface (TCP port 80) that overflows a fixed-length stack buffer, enabling arbitrary code execution with root privileges.

MitigationApply vendor firmware patch when available; until then, restrict network access to the router's management interface and consider network segmentation.

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
Tl Wr940n FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 3.20.1

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/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 router model
    Access the web interface at http://[router-ip] or check the device label. Look for TL-WR940N in the model information.
    Affected if The device is not a TP-Link TL-WR940N router, then it is not affected by this specific CVE.
  2. Check the firmware version
    Log into the web interface and navigate to Status or System Tools > Firmware Upgrade page. Look for a version string matching '3.20.1' or 'Build 200316'.
    Affected if The firmware version is exactly 3.20.1 (Build 200316), then the device is vulnerable. Other versions are not affected by this specific CVE.
  3. Verify the HTTP service is accessible
    Run 'nmap -p 80 [router-ip]' or 'telnet [router-ip] 80' from a network-adjacent host to confirm the httpd service is listening on TCP port 80.
    Affected if Port 80 is open and responding, the attack surface exists. If the service is not exposed, exploitation is not possible from the network.
  4. Confirm web interface authentication status
    Attempt to access the router web interface without credentials. If a login prompt appears, authentication is enabled. Check router settings under Administration or Access Control for remote management settings.
    Affected if The web interface requires authentication (login prompt appears), the vulnerability requires valid credentials for exploitation. If authentication is disabled, the bar is lower for an attacker.

The environment is affected if it is a TP-Link TL-WR940N router running firmware version 3.20.1 with the HTTP service (port 80) accessible to an authenticated, network-adjacent attacker.

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 patch when available; until then, restrict network access to the router's management interface and consider network segmentation.

Fix this in Tl Wr940n Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2022-24973 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
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