CVE-2025-12596
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 · uneditedA security vulnerability has been detected in Tenda AC23 16.03.07.52. Affected is the function saveParentControlInfo of the file /goform/saveParentControlInfo. Such manipulation of the argument Time leads to buffer overflow. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in Tenda AC23 router firmware 16.03.07.52 allows remote code execution via the saveParentControlInfo function. The Time parameter in the /goform/saveParentControlInfo web interface is not properly validated, enabling an attacker to overflow a buffer and potentially execute arbitrary code with root privileges on the affected device.
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= 16.03.07.52CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the router modelAccess the router admin interface or check the device label to confirm the model is Tenda AC23Affected if The device is a Tenda AC23 router
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Check the firmware versionLog into the router web interface, navigate to System Settings or Status page, and locate the firmware version information. Compare it to the affected version 16.03.07.52Affected if The installed firmware version is exactly 16.03.07.52
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Determine if parent control is accessibleIn the router web interface, navigate to the Parental Controls or Parent Control section. Check if this feature is present and accessibleAffected if The parent control feature is available and can be accessed via /goform/saveParentControlInfo
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Check WAN exposure of admin interfaceAttempt to access the router login page from an external network using the public IP address, or check port forwarding/firewall rules that allow HTTP/HTTPS access to the router from WANAffected if The router admin interface is exposed to the WAN (internet) side
A user is affected if they have a Tenda AC23 router running firmware version 16.03.07.52 with the parent control feature accessible, especially if the admin interface is WAN-exposed.
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 vendor firmware update if available; otherwise, disable remote web management, block external access to the router's HTTP/HTTPS services via firewall, and consider replacing the end-of-life device.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-12596 — 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-2025-12596 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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