CVE-2023-28703
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-AC86U’s specific cgi function has a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability due to insufficient validation for network packet header length. A remote attacker with administrator privileges can exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary system commands, disrupt system or terminate service.
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 confidenceASUS RT-AC86U routers contain a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in a specific CGI function due to insufficient validation of network packet header length. A remote attacker with administrator privileges can exploit this to execute arbitrary system commands or cause denial of service.
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= 3.0.0.4.386.51255CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify router modelAccess the router's web administration interface and check the device info page, or check the product label on the device itselfAffected if Device is not an ASUS RT-AC86U router - this vulnerability only affects that specific model
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Check installed firmware versionIn the router web UI, navigate to Administration > Firmware Upgrade or Advanced Settings > System to view the current firmware versionAffected if Firmware version matches 3.0.0.4.386.51255 exactly
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Verify remote web management statusIn the router web UI, go to Administration > System > Remote Management (or WAN Access) and check if Enable Web CSS from WAN is turned onAffected if Remote web management (WAN access) is enabled - the vulnerability requires remote network access to exploit
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Check administrative access settingsIn the router web UI under Administration > System, review the Allow remote access setting and any IP address restrictions configuredAffected if Remote administrative access is permitted to any IP address (0.0.0.0 or unrestricted) rather than limited to specific trusted IPs
The device is affected if it is an ASUS RT-AC86U router running firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.51255 AND remote web management is enabled, allowing unauthenticated network attackers to reach the vulnerable CGI function.
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.
From vendor dataApply the vendor firmware update from ASUS immediately. If no update is available, disable remote web management interfaces and restrict administrative access to trusted IP addresses only.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28703 — 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-2023-28703 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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