CVE-2023-41345
published 2023-11-03CVE-2023-41345: ASUS RT-AX55’s authentication-related function has a vulnerability of insufficient filtering of special characters within its token-generated module. An…
PriorityP279high8.8CVSS 3.1
AVNACLPRLUINSUCHIHAH
ITWVulnCheck KEV
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
1.29%
66.9th percentile
ASUS RT-AX55’s authentication-related function has a vulnerability of insufficient filtering of special characters within its token-generated module. An authenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to perform a Command Injection attack to execute arbitrary commands, disrupt the system, or terminate services.
Affected
2 ranges
| Vendor | Product | Version range | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| asus | rt-ax55 | — | — |
| asus | rt-ax55_firmware | — | — |
Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote
otherSelf-signed TLS certificate with 100-year lifetime replacing ASUS-generated AiCloud certificate↗
- →Hunt for ASUS AiCloud services presenting a self-signed TLS certificate with a validity period of ~100 years; this certificate replacement was observed in 99% of compromised devices and was used to identify ~50,000 infected IPs. ↗
- →Monitor HTTP POST requests to /start_apply.htm targeting the qos_bw_rulelist parameter on ASUS RT-AX55 and similar WRT devices for OS command injection payloads (CVE-2023-41345/CVE-2023-39780 exploitation vector). ↗
- →Compromised routers may be used as ORB (Operational Relay Box) nodes; look for unusual outbound proxy/relay traffic or C2 tunneling activity originating from ASUS AC-series and AX-series router IPs. ↗
- →Absence of infections within China-geolocated IPs may assist in threat actor attribution; correlate infected IP geolocation (Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Russia, Central Europe, US) with known ORB infrastructure patterns. ↗
- →Check for exploitation of CVE-2025-2492 via crafted requests to routers with AiCloud enabled; ASUS AiCloud service was leveraged to deploy the intrusion set. ↗
- ·CVE-2023-41345 exploitation requires authenticated access to the target ASUS device; unauthenticated exploitation is not described for this specific CVE. ↗
- ·The WrtHug campaign does not upgrade firmware on compromised devices, leaving them open to takeover by additional threat actors; defenders should not assume a single actor controls a compromised device. ↗
CVSS provenance
nvdv3.18.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vulncheck8.8HIGH
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GHSA
GHSA-33x3-9w3j-2vw6: ASUS RT-AC86U’s authentication-related function has a vulnerability of insufficient filtering of special characters within its token-generated module
ghsa_unreviewed·2023-11-03
CVE-2023-41345 [HIGH] CWE-78 GHSA-33x3-9w3j-2vw6: ASUS RT-AC86U’s authentication-related function has a vulnerability of insufficient filtering of special characters within its token-generated module
ASUS RT-AC86U’s authentication-related function has a vulnerability of insufficient filtering of special characters within its token-generated module. An authenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to perform a Command Injection attack to execute arbitrary commands, disrupt the system, or terminate services.
VulnCheck
ASUS rt-ax55_firmware Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
vulncheck·2023·CVSS 8.8
CVE-2023-41345 [HIGH] ASUS rt-ax55_firmware Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
ASUS rt-ax55_firmware Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
ASUS RT-AX55’s authentication-related function has a vulnerability of insufficient filtering of special characters within its token-generated module. An authenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to perform a Command Injection attack to execute arbitrary commands, disrupt the system, or terminate services.
Affected: ASUS rt-ax55_firmware
Required Action: Apply remediations or mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if remediation or mitigations are unavailable.
Exploitation References: https://securityscorecard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/STRIKE_Asus_WrtHug-Report_V6.pdf
No detection rules found.
No public exploits indexed.
Bleepingcomputer
New WrtHug campaign hijacks thousands of end-of-life ASUS routers
blogs_bleepingcomputer·2025-11-19·CVSS 8.8
[HIGH] New WrtHug campaign hijacks thousands of end-of-life ASUS routers
## New WrtHug campaign hijacks thousands of end-of-life ASUS routers
## Bill Toulas
Thousands of ASUS WRT routers, mostly end-of-life or outdated devices, have been hijacked in a global campaign called Operation WrtHug that exploits six vulnerabilities.
Over the past six months, scanners looking for ASUS devices compromised in Operation WrtHug identified "roughly 50,000 unique IPs" around the globe.
Most of the compromised devices have IP addresses located in Taiwan, while others are distributed across Southeast Asia, Russia, Central Europe, and the United States.
Notably, there are no observed infections within China, which may indicate a threat actor from this country, but researchers found insufficient evidence for high-confidence attribution.
According to SecurityScorecard’s STRI
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NoiseLetter March 2026
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2023-11-03
Published
Exploited in the wild