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Edgerouter X FirmwareOperating system · Ui

CVE-2023-1456

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-25
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
A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X 2.0.9-hotfix.6. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component NAT Configuration Handler. The manipulation leads to command injection. The attack may be initiated remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The real existence of this vulnerability is still doubted at the moment. The identifier VDB-223301 was assigned to this vulnerability. NOTE: The vendor position is that post-authentication issues are not accepted as vulnerabilities.

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 · moderate confidence

Command injection vulnerability in the NAT Configuration Handler of Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X (version 2.0.9-hotfix.6) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands. The vulnerability is reportedly post-authentication, though the vendor disputes its classification as a security issue. A public exploit (VDB-223301) exists, and the CVSS score of 9.8 reflects the critical severity if exploited.

MitigationRestrict administrative access to trusted IP addresses only via firewall rules, implement network segmentation for management interfaces, and monitor for unauthorized access attempts. Since the vendor does not consider this post-authentication issue a vulnerability, evaluate whether a firmware update or alternative routing hardware is available.

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
Edgerouter X FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 2.0.9

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:3.1/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 the device model
    Access the router CLI via SSH or check the web interface system status page to confirm the hardware model is EdgeRouter X
    Affected if The device is not an EdgeRouter X model (different models may have different vulnerability status)
  2. Check the firmware version
    Run 'show version' in the CLI or check the web interface Dashboard for the firmware version number
    Affected if The firmware version is 2.0.9 (or 2.0.9-hotfix.6 specifically, as the vulnerability is confirmed in this release)
  3. Verify if remote admin access is enabled
    Check the firewall configuration via 'show firewall' or review the web interface under System > Administration > Firewall to see if the management interface (HTTP/HTTPS/SSH) is bound to WAN or an exposed interface
    Affected if The admin interface (web UI or SSH) is accessible from untrusted networks (WAN side), which would allow remote attackers to authenticate and trigger the vulnerability
  4. Confirm NAT configuration handlers exist
    Review the NAT configuration by running 'show nat source rule' or accessing the web interface under Routing > NAT to confirm NAT rules are configured
    Affected if NAT rules are configured and the NAT Configuration Handler is active, which is the attack surface for this command injection flaw

The environment is affected if the device is an EdgeRouter X running firmware version 2.0.9 with remote administrative access exposed and NAT configuration enabled, allowing an authenticated attacker to inject commands through the NAT Configuration Handler.

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

Restrict administrative access to trusted IP addresses only via firewall rules, implement network segmentation for management interfaces, and monitor for unauthorized access attempts. Since the vendor does not consider this post-authentication issue a vulnerability, evaluate whether a firmware update or alternative routing hardware is available.

Fix this in Edgerouter X Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2023-1456 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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