CVE-2023-45985 in X5000R
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
TOTOLINK X5000R V9.1.0u.6118_B20201102 and TOTOLINK A7000R V9.1.0u.6115_B20201022 were discovered to contain a stack overflow in the function setParentalRules. This vulnerability allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via a crafted POST request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-45985 affects TOTOLINK X5000R and A7000R routers running specific firmware versions, presenting a critical stack overflow condition within the setParentalRules function. This flaw resides in the web interface handling of parental control rules configuration, where the device fails to properly validate input parameters before processing them. The stack overflow occurs when the device receives a specially crafted POST request containing malformed data that exceeds the allocated buffer space in memory, causing the application to crash and restart. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow, which is classified as a high-severity issue in the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog. The attack vector requires an unauthenticated remote attacker to send a malicious POST request to the affected device's web management interface, exploiting the lack of proper input sanitization and bounds checking in the parental control rule processing module.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks within the network perimeter. When exploited successfully, the stack overflow causes a denial of service condition that renders the router's web management interface inaccessible, effectively cutting off administrative access to the device. This creates a scenario where network administrators cannot configure or monitor parental controls, and in some cases, the device may become completely unresponsive until manual reboot occurs. The vulnerability's exploitation does not require authentication, making it particularly dangerous as any remote attacker can trigger the condition without prior access credentials. According to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this represents a privilege escalation and denial of service technique that can be categorized under T1499.004 Network Denial of Service, where the adversary leverages a software vulnerability to disrupt services. The DoS condition affects not only the management interface but can also impact the overall network connectivity if the device becomes unresponsive during critical operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-45985 should prioritize immediate firmware updates from TOTOLINK, as the vendor has likely released patches addressing the buffer overflow condition in the setParentalRules function. Network administrators should implement network segmentation to isolate affected devices from critical network infrastructure and deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious POST requests targeting the web management interface. Access controls should be enforced through firewall rules that restrict access to the router's management ports to trusted IP addresses only, and administrators should disable unnecessary services such as remote management when not required. The implementation of web application firewalls can help detect and block malformed requests that attempt to exploit the stack overflow vulnerability. Additionally, regular security audits should be conducted to verify that all network devices have up-to-date firmware and that proper input validation is implemented across all web interfaces. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions that can detect unusual patterns of traffic or service disruptions that may indicate exploitation attempts, and maintain detailed logs of all management interface access attempts for forensic analysis purposes.