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Rt Ax88u FirmwareOperating system · Asus

CVE-2023-41349

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.0.0.4.388.23748 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
ASUS router RT-AX88U has a vulnerability of using externally controllable format strings within its Advanced Open VPN function. An authenticated remote attacker can exploit the exported OpenVPN configuration to execute an externally-controlled format string attack, resulting in sensitivity information leakage, or forcing the device to reset and permanent denial of 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 confidence

The ASUS RT-AX88U router contains a format string vulnerability in its Advanced OpenVPN function's exported configuration. An authenticated remote attacker can manipulate the OpenVPN configuration export to inject format string specifiers (e.g., %s, %x), allowing arbitrary memory read/write operations that can leak sensitive information or crash the device.

MitigationApply the vendor firmware update from ASUS when available. Until then, restrict access to the router's admin interface to trusted users only and monitor for unauthorized configuration changes.

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
Rt Ax88u FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 3.0.0.4.388.23748

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 router model
    Check the device label or router admin interface to confirm the exact model number is RT-AX88U
    Affected if Router model is ASUS RT-AX88U and is in the affected product line
  2. Check firmware version
    Log into the router admin interface, navigate to the firmware version or system information page, and note the installed firmware version number
    Affected if Firmware version is lower than 3.0.0.4.388.23748
  3. Verify OpenVPN configuration status
    In the router admin interface, navigate to the VPN settings or Advanced OpenVPN section and check whether any OpenVPN client or server configuration exists
    Affected if OpenVPN client or server is configured and enabled on the device
  4. Assess admin interface exposure
    Check router firewall settings and access control lists to determine if the admin interface (typically ports 80/443 or 8443) is accessible from untrusted networks such as the internet
    Affected if Admin interface is reachable from untrusted or public networks

You are affected if you have an RT-AX88U router running firmware below version 3.0.0.4.388.23748 with OpenVPN configured, especially if the admin interface is accessible from untrusted networks.

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 3.0.0.4.388.23748 or later
Fixed in 3.0.0.4.388.23748
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor firmware update from ASUS when available. Until then, restrict access to the router's admin interface to trusted users only and monitor for unauthorized configuration changes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

ASUS RT-AX88U Firmware 3.0.0.4.388.23748 or later

  1. 1. Access the ASUS router web interface by navigating to the router's IP address (typically 192.168.1.1) in a web browser
  2. 2. Log in with administrator credentials
  3. 3. Navigate to the Administration section, then Firmware Upgrade
  4. 4. Download the latest firmware version 3.0.0.4.388.23748 or later from the official ASUS support website for the RT-AX88U model
  5. 5. In the router web interface, click 'Upload' and select the downloaded firmware file
  6. 6. Wait for the firmware upload and installation to complete - do not power off the router during this process
  7. 7. The router will automatically reboot after the firmware update is applied
  8. 8. After reboot, verify the firmware version under Administration > Firmware Version to confirm the update was successful
Caveat Standard firmware upgrade risks apply - ensure stable power during upload; backup router configuration before upgrading

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

Fix this in Rt Ax88u Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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-2023-41349 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