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Gl Ar300m FirmwareOperating system · Gl Inet

CVE-2023-46455

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
In GL.iNET GL-AR300M routers with firmware v4.3.7 it is possible to write arbitrary files through a path traversal attack in the OpenVPN client file upload functionality.

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

This is a path traversal vulnerability in the OpenVPN client file upload feature of GL.iNET GL-AR300M routers (firmware v4.3.7). An attacker can use '../' sequences in uploaded filenames or paths to write arbitrary files outside the intended upload directory, potentially overwriting system files or achieving code execution.

MitigationUpdate to a patched firmware version if available. If no update exists, consider disabling the OpenVPN client functionality or implementing network-level access controls to limit exposure to authenticated users.

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
Gl Ar300m FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 4.3.7

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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 device model
    Access the router web interface or check the device label to confirm the model is GL-AR300M. Alternatively, run 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or check the admin panel system info page.
    Affected if Device is not a GL-AR300M router, then not affected by this specific CVE.
  2. Check firmware version
    Navigate to the router web interface, go to System > Firmware or System > Overview page, and locate the firmware version number. On CLI, run 'cat /etc/os-release' or 'fw_printenv version' if available.
    Affected if Firmware version is exactly 4.3.7, then the device is running the affected version.
  3. Verify OpenVPN client configuration
    In the router web interface, go to VPN > OpenVPN Client. Check if any OpenVPN configurations are present or if the client feature has been configured with any .ovpn profiles.
    Affected if OpenVPN client feature has been used/configured with uploaded configuration files, making the vulnerable upload function accessible.
  4. Inspect upload directory contents
    Use SSH or console access to list files in /etc/openvpn/ or the directory where OpenVPN configurations are stored (typically /etc/openvpn/ or /tmp/). Run 'ls -la /etc/openvpn/' and look for any files with unusual names containing '../' patterns.
    Affected if Files exist outside the expected /etc/openvpn/ directory, or suspicious files with path traversal patterns are present, indicating potential exploitation.
  5. Check for unauthorized web shell files
    Search the filesystem for recently created PHP files or scripts in non-standard locations. Run 'find / -name '*.php' -mtime -30' or 'find / -type f -name '*eval*' -o -name '*shell*'' to look for potential web shells.
    Affected if Unexpected files with execution permissions exist outside the normal web directory, suggesting possible post-exploitation.

You are affected if you are running a GL-AR300M router with firmware version 4.3.7 and have used the OpenVPN client file upload feature.

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

Update to a patched firmware version if available. If no update exists, consider disabling the OpenVPN client functionality or implementing network-level access controls to limit exposure to authenticated users.

Fix this in Gl Ar300m Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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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-2023-46455 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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