# CVE-2018-17208: Command injection in n/a

> Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on Linksys Velop devices via hidden CGI scripts.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 19 Sep 2018
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jm5x-pfmc-wg8q

## What is CVE-2018-17208?

CVE-2018-17208 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Sep 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Linksys Velop 1.1.2.187020 devices allow unauthenticated command injection, providing an attacker with full root access, via cgi-bin/zbtest.cgi or cgi-bin/zbtest2.cgi (scripts that can be discovered with binwalk on the firmware, but are not visible in the web interface). This occurs because shell metacharacters in the query string are mishandled by ShellExecute, as demonstrated by the zbtest.cgi?cmd=level&level= substring. This can also be exploited via CSRF.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-17208?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linksys Velop Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-17208?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-17208 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-17208 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-17208 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-17208 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-17208 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Sep 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-17208 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17208/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17208/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-17208
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17208
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-17208

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17208/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.