CVE-2022-26673
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 · uneditedASUS RT-AX88U has insufficient filtering for special characters in the HTTP header parameter. A remote attacker with general user privilege can exploit this vulnerability to inject JavaScript and perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.
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 confidenceThe ASUS RT-AX88U router fails to properly sanitize special characters in HTTP header parameters before storing and displaying them, allowing an authenticated user with general privileges to inject malicious JavaScript code that executes when other users view the affected data.
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< 3.0.0.4.386.46065CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify router modelAccess the router web interface or check the device label to confirm the model is RT-AX88UAffected if Model is not RT-AX88U (different models may have different vulnerabilities)
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Check firmware versionLog into the router web interface, navigate to Administration > Firmware Upgrade, or use the ASUS Router app to view the current firmware versionAffected if Firmware version is lower than 3.0.0.4.386.46065
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Verify HTTP header handlingAs an authenticated user with general privileges, access a feature that accepts or displays HTTP header parameters (such as VPN settings, port forwarding, or network diagnostics). Submit a test value containing special characters like <script>alert(1)</script> in a header-related fieldAffected if The special characters are stored and displayed without encoding when viewed by another user
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Check for admin session cookiesInspect browser cookies while logged into the router admin interface for session managementAffected if The vulnerability requires an authenticated session, so if no valid session exists the specific exploitation path differs
The router is affected if it is an RT-AX88U model running firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.46065 or lower, and an attacker with general user privileges can inject script content into HTTP header parameters that persist and execute when other users view the data.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped3.0.0.4.386.46065
Implement strict input validation and output encoding for all HTTP header parameters to prevent injection of scriptable characters; validate and escape data before storage and before rendering in any user-facing context.
ASUS RT-AX88U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.46065 or later
- 1. Download the fixed firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.46065 or later from the official ASUS support website for the RT-AX88U model
- 2. Connect to your router's web administration interface by entering the router's IP address in a web browser
- 3. Log in with administrator credentials
- 4. Navigate to the 'Administration' or 'Firmware Upgrade' section in the router settings
- 5. Select the option to manually upload the firmware file
- 6. Browse and select the downloaded firmware file (.trx format)
- 7. Click 'Upload' or 'Apply' to begin the firmware upgrade process
- 8. Wait for the upgrade to complete - do not power off the router during this process
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-26673 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-26673 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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