Coverage › CVE-2023-33538

CVE-2023-33538 Mapped Sigma

TP-Link Multiple Routers Command Injection Vulnerability

Vendor / product

TP-Link — Multiple Routers

Description (CISA)

TP-Link TL-WR940N V2/V4, TL-WR841N V8/V10, and TL-WR740N V1/V2 contain a command injection vulnerability via the component /userRpm/WlanNetworkRpm. The impacted products could be end-of-life (EoL) and/or end-of-service (EoS). Users should discontinue product utilization.

Added to KEV

2025-06-16

Due date

2025-07-07

Required action

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Known ransomware use

Unknown

CWE

CWE-77

CISA notes

https://www.tp-link.com/nordic/support/faq/3562/
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-33538

Elsewhere

cve.org · NVD · CISA KEV · JSON

ATT&CK techniques · CTID Mappings Explorer, ATT&CK 16.1, KEV snapshot 2025-07-28

2 mapping objects across 2 techniques. exploitation technique states how the vulnerability is exploited; primary and secondary impact state what exploitation achieves. They are different claims and are labelled as such.

Detection chain · ATT&CK Enterprise v19.2 detection strategies, analytics, log sources

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter primary impact

• DET0516 Behavioral Detection of Command and Scripting Interpreter Abuse
  AN1428 Windows

  Detects the execution of scripting or command interpreters (e.g., powershell.exe, cmd.exe, wscript.exe) outside expected administrative time windows or from abnormal user contexts, often followed by encoded/obfuscated arguments or secondary execution events.

  WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1 → DC0032 Process Creation

  Tunable: CommandLinePattern ParentProcessName TimeWindow
  AN1429 Linux

  Detects use of shell interpreters (e.g., bash, sh, python, perl) initiated by users or processes not normally executing them, especially when chaining suspicious utilities like netcat, curl, or ssh.

  auditd:SYSCALL execve → DC0032 Process Creation

  Tunable: InterpreterName UserContext ExecutionChainLength
  AN1430 macOS

  Detects launch of command-line interpreters via Terminal, Automator, or hidden osascript, especially when parent process lineage deviates from user-initiated applications.

  macos:unifiedlog log stream --info --predicate 'eventMessage CONTAINS "exec"' → DC0032 Process Creation

  Tunable: LaunchAgentName ScriptName TerminalAppUsage
  AN1431 ESXi

  Detects use of 'esxcli system' or direct interpreter commands (e.g., busybox shell) invoked from SSH or host terminal unexpectedly.

  esxi:vobd shell session start → DC0064 Command Execution

  Tunable: ShellEnabledFlag SSHContext
  AN1432 Network Devices

  Identifies CLI interpreter access (e.g., Cisco IOS, Juniper JUNOS) via enable mode or scripting-capable sessions used by uncommon accounts or from unknown IPs.

  networkdevice:cli shell command → DC0064 Command Execution

  networkdevice:syslog authentication & authorization → DC0002 User Account Authentication

  Tunable: UserRole DeviceType

Sigma rules tagged attack.t1059 (95)

All 95 rules on the technique page →

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation exploitation technique

• DET0514 Detection Strategy for Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
  AN1419 Windows

  Detects exploitation attempts targeting vulnerable kernel drivers or OS components, often followed by unusual process or token behavior.

  WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=6 → DC0079 Driver Load

  WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1 → DC0032 Process Creation

  WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4672 → DC0088 Logon Session Metadata

  Tunable: DriverNamePattern TimeWindow ParentProcessPath
  AN1420 Linux

  Detects escalation via vulnerable setuid binaries or kernel modules, often chained with unusual access to /proc/kallsyms or /dev/kmem.

  auditd:SYSCALL execve → DC0032 Process Creation

  auditd:SYSCALL ACCESS → DC0035 Process Access

  auditd:SYSCALL dmesg → DC0016 Module Load

  Tunable: SetUIDBinaryList TimeWindow EffectiveUIDThreshold
  AN1421 macOS

  Detects use of vulnerable kernel extensions or entitlements abused via setuid or AppleScript injection chains.

  macos:unifiedlog process:exec and kext load events → DC0032 Process Creation

  macos:endpointsecurity ES_EVENT_TYPE_NOTIFY_KEXTLOAD → DC0016 Module Load

  Tunable: EntitlementList TimeWindow
  AN1422 Containers

  Detects container breakout behavior via exploitation (e.g., DirtyPipe, CVE-2022-0847), followed by host OS interaction or escalated capability assignment.

  auditd:SYSCALL capset or setns → DC0067 Logon Session Creation

  containerd:runtime e.g., containerd, Docker events → DC0091 Container Enumeration

  Tunable: NamespaceEscapePattern TimeWindow

Sigma rules tagged attack.t1068 (31)

All 31 rules on the technique page →