CVE-2020-9054

CRITICAL KEV NUCLEI

ZyXEL NAS326/520/540/542 < 5.21 - Unauthenticated RCE via Weblogin.cgi

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2020-9054 is actively exploited and listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added March 25, 2022. EIP tracks 1 public exploit from researchers including darrenmartyn. A Nuclei detection template is also available.

AI-analyzed exploit summary The repository contains a functional Python script that exploits an authentication bypass vulnerability in Zyxel devices via command injection in the login form. The PoC sends a crafted username with a command injection payload to execute arbitrary commands on the target device.

Description

Multiple ZyXEL network-attached storage (NAS) devices running firmware version 5.21 contain a pre-authentication command injection vulnerability, which may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable device. ZyXEL NAS devices achieve authentication by using the weblogin.cgi CGI executable. This program fails to properly sanitize the username parameter that is passed to it. If the username parameter contains certain characters, it can allow command injection with the privileges of the web server that runs on the ZyXEL device. Although the web server does not run as the root user, ZyXEL devices include a setuid utility that can be leveraged to run any command with root privileges. As such, it should be assumed that exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to remote code execution with root privileges. By sending a specially-crafted HTTP POST or GET request to a vulnerable ZyXEL device, a remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code on the device. This may happen by directly connecting to a device if it is directly exposed to an attacker. However, there are ways to trigger such crafted requests even if an attacker does not have direct connectivity to a vulnerable devices. For example, simply visiting a website can result in the compromise of any ZyXEL device that is reachable from the client system. Affected products include: NAS326 before firmware V5.21(AAZF.7)C0 NAS520 before firmware V5.21(AASZ.3)C0 NAS540 before firmware V5.21(AATB.4)C0 NAS542 before firmware V5.21(ABAG.4)C0 ZyXEL has made firmware updates available for NAS326, NAS520, NAS540, and NAS542 devices. Affected models that are end-of-support: NSA210, NSA220, NSA220+, NSA221, NSA310, NSA310S, NSA320, NSA320S, NSA325 and NSA325v2

Exploits (1)

nomisec WORKING POC 3 stars
by darrenmartyn · remote
https://github.com/darrenmartyn/CVE-2020-9054

The repository contains a functional Python script that exploits an authentication bypass vulnerability in Zyxel devices via command injection in the login form. The PoC sends a crafted username with a command injection payload to execute arbitrary commands on the target device.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Zyxel devices (specific version not specified)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device · Target device must be vulnerable to CVE-2020-9054
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →

Nuclei Templates (1)

Zyxel NAS Firmware 5.21- Remote Code Execution
CRITICALby dhiyaneshDk

References (6)

Core 6
Core References
Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/78.html
Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource third-party-advisory x_refsource_cert-vn
https://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/498544/
Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource x_refsource_misc
https://kb.cert.org/artifacts/cve-2020-9054.html

Scores

CVSS v3 9.8
EPSS 0.9426
EPSS Percentile 99.9%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation active
Automatable no
Technical Impact total

Details

CISA KEV 2022-03-25
VulnCheck KEV 2020-02-24
InTheWild.io 2020-03-12
ENISA EUVD EUVD-2020-29883
CWE
CWE-78
Status published
Products (27)
zyxel/atp100_firmware 4.35 - 4.35\(abps.3\)c0
zyxel/atp200_firmware 4.35 - 4.35\(abfw.3\)c0
zyxel/atp500_firmware 4.35 - 4.35\(abfu.3\)c0
zyxel/atp800_firmware 4.35 - 4.35\(abiq.3\)c0
zyxel/nas326_firmware < 5.21\(aazf.7\)c0
zyxel/nas520_firmware < 5.21\(aasz.3\)c0
zyxel/nas540_firmware < 5.21\(aatb.4\)c0
zyxel/nas542_firmware < 5.21\(abag.4\)c0
zyxel/usg1100_firmware 4.35 - 4.35\(aapk.3\)c0
zyxel/usg110_firmware 4.35 - 4.35\(aaph.3\)c0
... and 17 more
Published Mar 04, 2020
KEV Added Mar 25, 2022
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026