Archer Ax53 FirmwareOperating system · Tp Link

CVE-2025-15607

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A command injection vulnerability on AX53 v1 occurs in mscd debug functionality due to insufficient input handling, allowing log redirection to arbitrary files and concatenation of unvalidated file content into shell commands, enabling authenticated attackers to inject and execute arbitrary commands. Successful exploitation may allow execution of malicious commands and ultimately full control of the device.

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 command injection vulnerability in the mscd debug functionality of the AX53 v1 device firmware. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation that allows authenticated attackers to redirect logs to arbitrary files and concatenate unvalidated file content into shell commands, enabling arbitrary command execution with the privileges of the mscd service.

MitigationThe primary mitigation is to obtain and apply an official firmware update from the vendor that addresses this vulnerability. Until then, restrict access to the mscd debug functionality to only trusted, authorized administrators and consider network segmentation to limit exposure.

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 Ax53 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.0

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify device model
    Access the router web interface or use a network scan to confirm the device is a TP-Link Archer AX53. Check the label on the device or look for 'Archer AX53' in the administration page under System or Device Info.
    Affected if Device is not an Archer AX53 model, then this specific CVE does not apply.
  2. Check firmware version
    In the router web interface, navigate to System > Firmware Upgrade or System > Device Info and confirm the installed firmware version. The affected version is 1.0 (exact match).
    Affected if Firmware version is anything other than 1.0, then this specific CVE version is not present. Compare your version to the affected ranges.
  3. Verify mscd service presence
    Access the router via SSH or telnet if enabled, and check if the mscd process or binary exists on the device. Look for /usr/bin/mscd or similar paths, or run 'ps' to list running processes and search for mscd.
    Affected if The mscd service is not present on the device, the vulnerability cannot be exploited.
  4. Check mscd debug functionality accessibility
    If mscd is present, determine if its debug interface is enabled or accessible. This may require checking configuration files, listening ports (such as port 1900/1901 commonly used by mscd), or attempting to reach the debug endpoint via HTTP if the debug port is exposed.
    Affected if The mscd debug functionality is disabled or not accessible from the network, exploitation is not possible.

The device is affected only if it is a TP-Link Archer AX53 running firmware version 1.0 AND the mscd debug functionality is accessible, allowing an authenticated attacker to inject commands through log redirection or file concatenation.

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

The primary mitigation is to obtain and apply an official firmware update from the vendor that addresses this vulnerability. Until then, restrict access to the mscd debug functionality to only trusted, authorized administrators and consider network segmentation to limit exposure.

Fix this in Archer Ax53 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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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-2025-15607 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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