OS Command Injection
OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.
How It Works
OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands. Instead of treating input as pure data, the shell interprets special characters as command separators or modifiers, allowing attackers to append arbitrary commands. Common injection points include system(), exec(), popen(), and backtick operators in languages like PHP, Python, and Ruby.
Attackers exploit shell metacharacters to break out of the intended command context. On both Unix and Windows, semicolons (;), pipes (|), and logical operators (&&, ||) chain multiple commands. Unix shells additionally interpret backticks and $() for command substitution, while newlines can also separate statements. For example, if an application executes ping -c 4 $USER_IP, an attacker supplying 8.8.8.8; cat /etc/passwd causes the server to run two commands sequentially.
Attacks manifest in three variants. Visible injection returns command output in the HTTP response, giving immediate feedback. Blind injection produces no direct output, requiring time-based detection (using sleep or timeout commands) or out-of-band confirmation via DNS lookups or HTTP callbacks to attacker-controlled servers. Attackers can also redirect output to web-accessible files for later retrieval.
Impact
- Complete server compromise — execute any command with the application's privileges, often www-data or root
- Lateral movement — scan internal networks, pivot to backend systems unreachable from the internet
- Data exfiltration — dump databases, read configuration files containing credentials, access sensitive business data
- Persistence mechanisms — install cron jobs, add SSH keys, deploy web shells for continued access
- Denial of service — crash services, fill disk space, consume CPU resources
- Supply chain attacks — modify application code or deployment artifacts to compromise downstream users
Real-World Examples
The Ivanti Cloud Service Appliance suffered CVE-2024-8190, where command injection in the administrative interface allowed unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog after observing active exploitation against enterprise networks.
GitLab experienced multiple command injection vulnerabilities over the years, including issues in repository import functionality where Git URLs containing shell metacharacters were passed unsanitized to system commands, enabling remote code execution on self-hosted instances.
Network equipment frequently contains these flaws. Various Netgear routers have exhibited command injection in ping diagnostic tools, where user-supplied IP addresses were concatenated directly into shell commands without validation, granting attackers complete device control.
Mitigation
- Eliminate OS commands entirely — use native language libraries (filesystem APIs, network functions) instead of shelling out
- Strict input allowlisting — permit only exact matches against predefined values; validate format with regex before any processing
- Parameterized execution APIs — use
execve()or language equivalents that pass arguments as arrays, bypassing the shell interpreter completely - Principle of least privilege — run application processes with minimal permissions to limit compromise impact
- Input validation — enforce expected patterns (IP addresses, alphanumeric IDs) but never rely on blacklisting metacharacters
Recent CVEs (9049)
A security flaw has been discovered in neurobin shc up to 4.0.3. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was determined in neurobin shc up to 4.0.3. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An authenticated arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the Content Explorer feature of LogicData eCommerce Framework v5.0.9.7000 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via uploading a crafted. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was determined in Wavlink WL-NU516U1 M16U1_V240425. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
screenshot-desktop allows capturing a screenshot of your local machine. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A deserialization vulnerability exists in Volcengine's verl 3.0.0, specifically in the scripts/model_merger.py script when using the "fsdp" backend. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
TOTOLINK-A3002R v4.0.0-B20230531.1404 was discovered to contain a command injection vulnerability in the devicemac parameter in the formMapDel endpoint. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
TOTOLINK A3002R v4.0.0-B20230531.1404 was discovered to contain an command injection vulnerability via the component bupload.html. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
TOTOLINK A3002R v4.0.0-B20230531.1404 was discovered to contain multiple OS command injection vulnerabilities via the macstr, bandstr, and clientoff parameters at /boafrm/formMapDelDevice. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
aiven-db-migrate is an Aiven database migration tool. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Command Injection vulnerability could allow attackers to inject arbitrary commands into system command execution.
In vowifi service, there is a possible command injection due to improper input validation. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In engineer mode service, there is a possible command injection due to improper input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was identified in Tenda AC20 16.03.08.12. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Claude Code is an agentic coding tool. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was identified in D-Link DIR-860L 2.04.B04. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the Python-Future 1.0.0 module allows for arbitrary code execution via the unintended import of a file named test.py. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in phome Empirebak 2010 in ebak2008/upload/class/config.php allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code when the config file was loaded. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with Administrator-level privileges to. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered on KuWFi GC111 devices (Hardware Version: CPE-LM321_V3.2, Software Version: GC111-GL-LM321_V3.0_20191211). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The KuWFi 4G LTE AC900 router 1.0.13 is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) on its web management interface. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The KuWFi 4G AC900 LTE router 1.0.13 is vulnerable to command injection on the HTTP API endpoints /goform/formMultiApnSetting and /goform/atCmd. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in D-Link DIR‑818L up to 1.05B01. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been found in TOTOLINK N350R 1.2.3-B20130826. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The /goform/formJsonAjaxReq POST endpoint of Shenzhen Tuoshi NR500-EA RG500UEAABxCOMSLICv3.4.2731.16.43 devices mishandles the set_timesetting action with the ntpserver0 parameter, which is used in a. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
OS Command Injection in Olivetin 2025.4.22 Custom Themes via the ParseRequestURI function in service/internal/executor/arguments.go. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A zip slip vulnerability in the /modules/ImportModule.php component of hortusfox-web v4.4 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted archive. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
NVIDIA WebDataset for all platforms contains a vulnerability where an attacker could execute arbitrary code with elevated permissions. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Cherry Studio is a desktop client that supports for multiple LLM providers. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Cherry Studio is a desktop client that supports for multiple LLM providers. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS Command ("OS Command Injection") vulnerability [CWE-78] in Fortinet FortiADC version 7.2.0 and before 7.1.1 allows a remote and. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A improper neutralization of special elements used in an os command ('os command injection') vulnerability [CWE-78] in Fortinet FortiWeb CLI version 7.6.0 through 7.6.3 and before 7.4.8 allows a. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command ('OS Command Injection') vulnerability [CWE-78] in Fortinet FortiWeb version 7.6.0 through 7.6.3, 7.4.0 through 7.4.7, 7.2.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command ('OS Command Injection') vulnerability [CWE-78] in Fortinet FortiSIEM version 7.3.0 through 7.3.1, 7.2.0 through 7.2.5, 7.1.0. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Epss exploitation probability 44.9% and no vendor patch available.
Improper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command injection') in GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been found in Linksys RE6250, RE6300, RE6350, RE6500, RE7000 and RE9000 up to 20250801. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was identified in Linksys RE6250, RE6300, RE6350, RE6500, RE7000 and RE9000 up to 20250801. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was determined in Linksys RE6250, RE6300, RE6350, RE6500, RE7000 and RE9000 up to 20250801. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in Linksys RE6250, RE6300, RE6350, RE6500, RE7000 and RE9000 up to 20250801. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was identified in Linksys RE6250, RE6300, RE6350, RE6500, RE7000 and RE9000 up to 20250801. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in Linksys RE6250, RE6300, RE6350, RE6500, RE7000 and RE9000 up to 20250801. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was identified in Linksys RE6250, RE6300, RE6350, RE6500, RE7000 and RE9000 up to 20250801. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been found in Linksys RE6250, RE6300, RE6350, RE6500, RE7000 and RE9000 up to 20250801. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in wangzhixuan spring-shiro-training up to 94812c1fd8f7fe796c931f4984ff1aa0671ab562. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
MiR software versions prior to version 3.0.0 are affected by a command injection vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Powered BLUE 870 versions 0.20130927 and prior contain an OS command injection vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
EnzoH has an OS command injection vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
EnzoH has an OS command injection vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.5). No vendor patch available.
EnzoH has an OS command injection vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.0). No vendor patch available.
Microsoft 365 Copilot BizChat Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Microsoft 365 Copilot BizChat Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in agentUniverse up to 0.0.18 and classified as critical. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Netwrix Directory Manager (formerly Imanami GroupID) 11.0.0.0 before 11.1.25162.02 allows Static Code Injection. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A command injection vulnerability exists in the 'passwd' parameter of the PPPoE setup process on the Shenzhen Aitemi M300 Wi-Fi Repeater (hardware model MT02). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The PPPoE configuration interface of the Shenzhen Aitemi M300 Wi-Fi Repeater (hardware model MT02) is vulnerable to command injection via the 'user' parameter. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A command injection vulnerability affects the Shenzhen Aitemi M300 Wi-Fi Repeater (hardware model MT02) during WPA2 configuration. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An unauthenticated OS command injection vulnerability exists in the Shenzhen Aitemi M300 Wi-Fi Repeater (hardware model MT02). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the Mitel 6800 Series, 6900 Series, and 6900w Series SIP Phones through 6.4 SP4 (R6.4.0.4006), and the 6970 Conference Unit through 6.4 SP4 (R6.4.0.4006) or version V1 R0.1.0,. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Tigo Energy's CCA is vulnerable to a command injection vulnerability in the /cgi-bin/mobile_api endpoint when the DEVICE_PING command is called, allowing remote code execution due to improper. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in SkyworkAI DeepResearchAgent up to 08eb7f8eb9505d0094d75bb97ff7dacc3fa3bbf2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in agno-agi agno up to 1.7.5.py of the component Model Context Protocol Handler. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
OS command injection vulnerability exists in CL4/6NX Plus and CL4/6NX-J Plus (Japan model) with the firmware versions prior to 1.15.5-r1. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR libSystemLib Command injection Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR ReadMVGImage Command Injection Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR JKWifiService Command Injection Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR JKWifiService Command Injection Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR libSystemLib Command Injection Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR JKWifiService Command Injection Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Kenwood DMX958XR Firmware Update Command Injection Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The web interface of multiple D-Link routers, including DIR-600 rev B (≤2.14b01) and DIR-300 rev B (≤2.13), contains an unauthenticated OS command injection vulnerability in command.php, which. Rated critical severity (CVSS 10.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and EPSS exploitation probability 71.7%.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- CRITICAL
- Category
- web
- Total CVEs
- 9049