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Archer A54 FirmwareOperating system · Tp Link

CVE-2023-44448

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2024-05-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
TP-Link Archer A54 libcmm.so dm_fillObjByStr Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of TP-Link Archer A54 routers. Authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the file libcmm.so. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-22262.

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

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the libcmm.so library of TP-Link Archer A54 routers. The dm_fillObjByStr function fails to validate the length of user-supplied data before copying it to a fixed-length stack buffer. An authenticated, network-adjacent attacker can exploit this to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied firmware update when available. Until then, restrict network access to trusted users, enforce strong authentication credentials, and monitor for unauthorized access 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
Archer A54 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 0.9.1_0.4_v0001.0

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:A/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify router model
    Log into the router admin interface (typically at 192.168.0.1) or check the device label to confirm the model is TP-Link Archer A54.
    Affected if Router model is not TP-Link Archer A54 (not affected)
  2. Check installed firmware version
    Navigate to the router's web admin interface, go to Status or System settings, and locate the firmware version field. Alternatively, use the TP-Link Tether app or check via telnet/SSH if enabled.
    Affected if Firmware version is exactly 0.9.1_0.4_v0001.0 (this version is affected)
  3. Verify libcmm.so library presence
    Access the router via telnet/SSH (if enabled) and check for the presence of /lib/libcmm.so or locate it in the firmware firmware dump.
    Affected if The libcmm.so library exists on the device (required for vulnerability)
  4. Confirm remote management access
    Check router settings under Advanced > Network > IP Address Binding or similar, and verify whether the admin interface is accessible from the WAN or guest networks.
    Affected if Remote management (WAN access) or guest network admin access is enabled (expands attack surface)
  5. Review authentication status
    Verify that default admin credentials have been changed and assess whether any compromised or weak credentials may be in use.
    Affected if Authenticated access is obtained by attacker (required for exploitation)

If you have a TP-Link Archer A54 router running firmware version 0.9.1_0.4_v0001.0 with the libcmm.so library present, and an attacker can authenticate to the admin interface, your environment is vulnerable to this buffer overflow.

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

Apply the vendor-supplied firmware update when available. Until then, restrict network access to trusted users, enforce strong authentication credentials, and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.

Fix this in Archer A54 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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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-2023-44448 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
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