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Tl Wa801n FirmwareOperating system · Tp Link

CVE-2022-46914

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.12.16 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 in the firmware update process of TP-LINK TL-WA801N / TL-WA801ND V1 v3.12.16 and earlier allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via uploading a crafted firmware image.

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

The TP-LINK TL-WA801N/TL-WA801ND V1 wireless access point firmware versions 3.12.16 and earlier contain a vulnerability in the firmware update mechanism that lacks proper validation of uploaded firmware images. Attackers can upload a crafted firmware image to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service, likely due to missing cryptographic signature verification or integrity checks before firmware installation.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware updates once available. Until then, restrict administrative access to the device firmware update function to trusted networks only, and monitor for indicators of compromise such as unexpected firmware upload attempts.

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 Wa801n FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 3.12.16
Tl Wa801nd V1 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 3.12.16

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 installed firmware version
    Log into the TP-LINK TL-WA801N/TL-WA801ND V1 web management interface and navigate to System Tools > Firmware Upgrade, or run 'tpcli get device-info' via CLI if available, to retrieve the current firmware version number
    Affected if The installed firmware version is 3.12.16 or any version lower than 3.12.16
  2. Verify if the device web interface is exposed to untrusted networks
    Check the device's LAN/WAN access settings under Network > LAN or Security settings, and determine if the HTTP/HTTPS management ports (typically 80/443) are bound to WAN interfaces or accessible from untrusted IP ranges
    Affected if The administrative web interface is reachable from WAN or untrusted network segments
  3. Confirm firmware integrity verification is disabled or bypassed
    Inspect the device configuration file or backup settings for any indication that firmware signature verification or hash checking is disabled or missing in the upgrade process
    Affected if Firmware integrity validation is not enforced or is missing from the update mechanism
  4. Check for unauthorized firmware upload attempts
    Review device logs under System Tools > Logs or syslog exports for entries indicating firmware upload requests, especially from unexpected IP addresses or at unusual times
    Affected if Firmware upload attempts are logged from untrusted sources or the update mechanism accepts unsigned images

You are affected if your device runs firmware version 3.12.16 or earlier AND the administrative interface is accessible from untrusted networks, allowing attackers to exploit the unsigned firmware update mechanism.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.12.16
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied firmware updates once available. Until then, restrict administrative access to the device firmware update function to trusted networks only, and monitor for indicators of compromise such as unexpected firmware upload attempts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

TP-Link TL-WA801N/TL-WA801ND V1 firmware > 3.12.16 (latest available version from official TP-Link support)

  1. 1. Visit the official TP-Link download page at www.tp-link.com to obtain the latest firmware version for the TL-WA801N/TL-WA801ND V1
  2. 2. Locate the firmware section for TL-WA801N V1 or TL-WA801ND V1
  3. 3. Download the most recent firmware version available (ensure version is greater than 3.12.16)
  4. 4. Access the device's web management interface using admin credentials
  5. 5. Navigate to the System Tools > Firmware Upgrade (or similar) section
  6. 6. Upload the downloaded firmware file to upgrade the device
  7. 7. Wait for the upgrade process to complete and device reboot
  8. 8. Verify the firmware version has been updated successfully
Caveat Firmware upgrades may reset device configurations; backup settings before upgrading if possible

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

Fix this in Tl Wa801n Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-46914 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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