# CVE-2023-44221: SonicWall SMA100 Appliances OS Command Injection

> Remote authenticated administrators can inject arbitrary OS commands on SonicWall SMA100 SSL-VPN devices, leading to code execution.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 1 May 2025 (CISA KEV)
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Dec 2023
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q6mf-v98h-w783

## What is CVE-2023-44221?

CVE-2023-44221 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in SonicWall SMA100, published on 5 Dec 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper neutralization of special elements in the SMA100 SSL-VPN management interface allows a remote authenticated attacker with administrative privilege to inject arbitrary commands as a 'nobody' user, potentially leading to OS Command Injection Vulnerability.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-44221?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Sonicwall Sma 200 Firmware, Sonicwall Sma 210 Firmware, Sonicwall Sma 400 Firmware, Sonicwall Sma 410 Firmware, Sonicwall Sma 500v Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-44221?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-44221 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 22 May 2025.

## Is CVE-2023-44221 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2023-44221 in the wild since at least 1 May 2025.

## Other vulnerabilities in SonicWall SMA100

- [CVE-2021-20038](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20038/): SonicWall SMA 100 Appliances Stack-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-20035](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20035/): SonicWall SMA100 Appliances OS Command Injection (medium 6.5, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-22273](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22273/): Command injection in SonicWall SRA/SMA100 (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-20042](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20042/): Server-side request forgery in SonicWall SMA100 (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-20045](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20045/): Memory corruption in SonicWall SMA100 (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-44221 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-44221 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in SonicWall SMA100, published on 5 Dec 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2023-44221 in the wild since at least 1 May 2025.

Affected product: SonicWall SMA100. 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-2023-44221/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-44221/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-44221
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-44221
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-44221

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-44221/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.