VulnerabilityPublished 11 Mar 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2024-12009: Zyxel EX5601-T1 firmware · OS Command Injection

Affects Zyxel EX5601-T1 firmwareSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.2 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.2High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 64% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 11 Mar 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

Restrict administrative access to the Zyxel EX5601-T1 devices by enforcing strong authentication mechanisms, such as multi-factor authentication and limiting admin access to trusted IP addresses or VPNs.
Monitor device logs and network traffic for unusual command execution patterns or unauthorized configuration changes indicative of exploitation attempts.
Apply the latest firmware updates from Zyxel as soon as they become available to address this vulnerability directly.
If patches are not yet available, consider isolating affected devices from untrusted networks and limit administrative access to reduce exposure.
Implement network segmentation to contain potential compromises and prevent lateral movement from the device to critical network segments.
Conduct regular audits of device configurations and user accounts to detect and remove unnecessary admin privileges.
Educate administrators on the risks of this vulnerability and the importance of secure credential management to prevent credential theft or misuse.
Employ intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) tuned to detect anomalous command injection attempts targeting Zyxel devices.

Description

A post-authentication command injection vulnerability in the "ZyEE" function of the Zyxel EX5601-T1 firmware version V5.70(ACDZ.3.6)C0 and earlier could allow an authenticated attacker with administrator privileges to execute operating system (OS) commands on a vulnerable device.

Impact

The impact of CVE-2024-12009 is substantial for organizations relying on Zyxel EX5601-T1 devices. Successful exploitation allows an attacker with admin credentials to execute arbitrary OS commands, potentially leading to full device compromise. This can result in unauthorized configuration changes, interception or manipulation of network traffic, disruption of network services, and use of the device as a foothold for lateral movement within the network. The confidentiality of sensitive data passing through or stored on the device can be compromised, while integrity and availability of network services may be severely affected. Given the device’s role in enterprise and ISP networks, exploitation could disrupt critical communications and services, impacting business operations and customer trust. The requirement for admin privileges limits the attack surface but also highlights the importance of securing administrative access. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate it, as attackers may develop exploits rapidly once details are public. Organizations worldwide using this firmware version are at risk until patches or mitigations are applied.

CWE-78Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #9OWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.
Architecture and Design
If at all possible, use library calls rather than external processes to recreate the desired functionality.
Architecture and Design · Operation · Sandbox or Jail
Run the code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict which files can be accessed in a particular directory or which commands can be executed by the software.
Architecture and Design · Attack Surface Reduction
For any data that will be used to generate a command to be executed, keep as much of that data out of external control as possible. For example, in web applications, this may require storing the data locally in the session's state instead of sending it out to the client in a hidden form field.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention in Java (opens in a new tab)
OS Command Injection Defense (opens in a new tab)
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.5 (opens in a new tab)
V5.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Command Line Execution through SQL Injection (opens in a new tab)
Command Delimiters (opens in a new tab)
Exploiting Multiple Input Interpretation Layers (opens in a new tab)
Argument Injection (opens in a new tab)
OS Command Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

zyxel.com/global/en/support/security-advisories/zyxel-security-advisory-for-post-authentication-command-injection-vulnerabilities-in-certain-dsl-ethernet-cpe-fiber-ont-and-wifi-extender-devices-03-11-2025 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Feb 2026, 21:46 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-78

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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