CVE-2025-28038: Critical Pre-Auth Remote Command Execution Vulnerability in TOTOLINK EX1200T

Overview

The CVE-2025-28038 vulnerability is a significant cybersecurity concern, primarily affecting users of the TOTOLINK EX1200T router. This vulnerability lies within the setWebWlanIdx function and allows for pre-auth remote command execution through the webWlanIdx parameter. Given its nature, attackers can exploit this weakness without any prior authentication, making it a significant threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system. The severity of this vulnerability is underscored by its CVSS score of 9.8, indicating that it poses a severe risk to affected systems.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-28038
Severity: Critical, CVSS score 9.8
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Unauthorized remote command execution leading to system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

TOTOLINK EX1200T | V4.1.2cu.5232_B20210713

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability resides in the setWebWlanIdx function in the TOTOLINK EX1200T router. This function allows an attacker to leverage the webWlanIdx parameter to execute pre-authentication remote commands. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted request to the vulnerable router, resulting in the execution of arbitrary commands with root privileges.

Conceptual Example Code

Here is a
conceptual
example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:

POST /cgi-bin/setWebWlanIdx HTTP/1.1
Host: target_router_ip
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
webWlanIdx=`malicious_command`

In this conceptual example, the `malicious_command` is the arbitrary command that the attacker wishes to run on the router. The exploit works by sending this specially crafted POST request to the target router, leveraging the webWlanIdx parameter.

Mitigation Guidance

Users are advised to apply the vendor patch from TOTOLINK as soon as possible to fix this vulnerability. In cases where immediate patch application is not feasible, users may adopt Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) as a temporary mitigation measure to prevent the possible exploitation of this vulnerability. However, these measures are not permanent solutions, and applying the patch remains essential to ensure network security.