CVE-2020-9054
ZyXEL NAS products running firmware version 5.21 and earlier are vulnerable to pre-authentication command injection in weblogin.cgi
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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
Official description from the CVE record, published by certcc. Copyright © 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. See /security/cve/legal for the CVE license. View the record on cve.org
Key data
CVSS 3.1 Critical 9.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector: Network
The vulnerable component can be reached over a network, possibly from the Internet.
Attack complexity: Low
No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will.
Privileges required: None
No account or privileges are needed.
User interaction: None
No action from any user is needed.
Scope: Unchanged
The impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality impact: High
Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data.
Integrity impact: High
Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data.
Availability impact: High
Serious or total effect on availability.
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | Network | The vulnerable component can be reached over a network, possibly from the Internet. |
| Attack complexity | Low | No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will. |
| Privileges required | None | No account or privileges are needed. |
| User interaction | None | No action from any user is needed. |
| Scope | Unchanged | The impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality impact | High | Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data. |
| Integrity impact | High | Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data. |
| Availability impact | High | Serious or total effect on availability. |
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EPSS
- Score
- 0.99988 (99.98% probability)
- Percentile
- 99.98%
- Scores of
- Nov 10, 2026
- Model
- v2026.06.15
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
- Name in the catalog
- Zyxel Multiple NAS Devices OS Command Injection Vulnerability
- Added to the catalog
- Mar 25, 2022
- Federal due date
- Apr 15, 2022
CISA assessment as of Feb 7, 2025
- Exploitation
- Recorded by CISA as active
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-78Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command
Affected products
ZyXEL NAS326
- affected: V5.21(AAZF.7)C0 up to V5.21(AAZF.7)C0
ZyXEL NAS520
- affected: V5.21(AASZ.3)C0 up to V5.21(AASZ.3)C0
ZyXEL NAS540
- affected: V5.21(AATB.4)C0 up to V5.21(AATB.4)C0
ZyXEL NAS542
- affected: V5.21(ABAG.4)C0 up to V5.21(ABAG.4)C0
ZyXEL NSA210
- affected: all
ZyXEL NSA220
- affected: all
ZyXEL NSA220+
- affected: all
ZyXEL NSA221
- affected: all
ZyXEL NSA310
- affected: V4.75(AALH.2)C0 up to V4.75(AALH.2)C0
ZyXEL NSA320
- affected: all
ZyXEL NSA320S
- affected: V4.75(AANV.2)C0 up to V4.75(AANV.2)C0
ZyXEL NSA325
- affected: V4.81(AAAJ.1)C0 up to V4.81(AAAJ.1)C0
ZyXEL NSA325v2
- affected: V4.81(AALS.1)C0 up to V4.81(AALS.1)C0
References
Timeline
- ID reserved
- Record published
- Added to CISA KEV
- Record last updated
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Data from the CVE Program (MITRE), CISA KEV and FIRST EPSS. CVSS is owned by FIRST and used by permission. Not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE, CISA or FIRST. Data as of Nov 10, 2026, 19:31 UTC. Sources and licenses