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Archer C20 FirmwareOperating system · Tp Link

CVE-2023-37284

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 230616 or later.
See remediation →
93/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Improper authentication vulnerability in Archer C20 firmware versions prior to 'Archer C20(JP)_V1_230616' allows a network-adjacent unauthenticated attacker to execute an arbitrary OS command via a crafted request to bypass authentication.

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

Improper authentication in TP-Link Archer C20 firmware allows a network-adjacent unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication and execute arbitrary OS commands via a crafted request. This is a pre-authentication command injection vulnerability affecting versions prior to 'Archer C20(JP)_V1_230616'.

MitigationUpgrade Archer C20 firmware to version 'Archer C20(JP)_V1_230616' or later. If upgrading is not immediately possible, restrict network access to the router management interface to trusted sources only.

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
Archer C20 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 230616

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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. Access the router's web management interface
    Open a browser and navigate to the router's IP address (commonly 192.168.0.1). Look for a 'System' or 'Firmware' section that displays the current firmware version.
    Affected if The displayed firmware version is earlier than 230616 (for example, 230315, 220728, etc.)
  2. Check firmware version via backup config file
    If you have access to the router's configuration backup feature, download the config file (often named config.bin or similar). Extract and inspect it for a firmware version string.
    Affected if The extracted version string shows a build date or version number lower than 230616
  3. Verify network accessibility of management interface
    From a computer on the same network, attempt to reach the router's web interface using its LAN IP. Additionally, check if WAN management/remote management is enabled in the router's settings under 'Remote Management' or 'Access Control'.
    Affected if The router's admin interface is reachable from an untrusted network segment, especially if WAN remote management is enabled, increasing the attack surface for network-adjacent attackers
  4. Compare firmware version against affected range
    Document the exact firmware version displayed. Compare it to the known affected versions: any version prior to the 230616 build (including beta releases, regional variants like _US, _EU, _JP prefixes with versions lower than 230616) is vulnerable.
    Affected if The installed firmware version string is lower than 230616, indicating the device contains the vulnerable code

You are affected if your TP-Link Archer C20 is running any firmware version earlier than build 230616 and its management interface is accessible to network-adjacent attackers.

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 230616 or later
Fixed in 230616
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Archer C20 firmware to version 'Archer C20(JP)_V1_230616' or later. If upgrading is not immediately possible, restrict network access to the router management interface to trusted sources only.

Recommended fix High confidence

Archer C20(JP)_V1_230616

  1. 1. Download the fixed firmware 'Archer C20(JP)_V1_230616' from the official TP-Link support website (www.tp-link.com)
  2. 2. Connect to the router's web management interface via a web browser
  3. 3. Navigate to the 'System' or 'Firmware Upgrade' section in the admin panel
  4. 4. Locate the firmware upload option and select the downloaded firmware file
  5. 5. Wait for the upload and installation process to complete - do not power off the router
  6. 6. After reboot, verify the firmware version has been updated to 230616 or later
  7. 7. Change the administrator password as a security precaution
Caveat Standard router firmware upgrade - review release notes for any configuration or feature changes

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

Fix this in Archer C20 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,220
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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-2023-37284 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data