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Mallory
HighPublic exploit

Remote command injection in DD-WRT httpd management GUI (cgi-bin/ URI)

IdentifiersCVE-2009-2765CWE-78

DD-WRT’s embedded web server (httpd) used by the management GUI contains an OS command injection flaw in versions 24 sp1 and other releases prior to build 12533. The vulnerable request handling for cgi-bin/ URIs fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input, allowing shell metacharacters to be interpreted by the underlying system shell. A remote attacker can send a crafted HTTP request to a cgi-bin/ endpoint and inject arbitrary commands for execution on the device.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Remote, unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary commands on the affected router/device via the management web interface, enabling full device compromise (e.g., configuration tampering, malware/botnet installation, pivoting, and service disruption). This vulnerability has been leveraged in the wild by IoT botnets (e.g., Mirai-derivatives) for automated propagation and DDoS bot enrollment.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Restrict management GUI exposure to trusted networks only (no WAN/Internet exposure). Disable remote administration if not required. Apply network controls (ACLs/firewall) to block untrusted access to the web management interface and monitor for suspicious requests targeting cgi-bin/ paths indicative of command-injection probing/exploitation.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade DD-WRT firmware to build 12533 or later (or an otherwise fixed release) where the httpd input handling for cgi-bin/ requests is corrected to prevent shell metacharacter injection.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No valid public exploits. Mallory filtered out 2 candidates as fakes, detection scripts, or README-only repos.

VALID 0 / 2 TOTALView more in app

All candidate exploits were filtered out by Mallory's validation.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
Dd-WrtDd-Wrtoperating_system

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Threat actor evidence

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Associated malware

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Detection signatures

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Vendor-by-vendor mapping

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Social activity

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