CVE-2025-27797: Wi-Fi AP UNIT AC-WPS-11ac RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-27797 Overview

CVE-2025-27797 is a critical OS command injection vulnerability affecting the Wi-Fi AP UNIT 'AC-WPS-11ac series' manufactured by Inaba Denki Sangyo. The vulnerability exists in a specific service within the device firmware, allowing remote attackers who can authenticate to the product to execute arbitrary operating system commands. This type of vulnerability (CWE-78) represents a severe security risk as it can lead to complete device compromise, unauthorized network access, and potential lateral movement within affected environments.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers with authentication credentials can execute arbitrary OS commands on vulnerable Wi-Fi access points, potentially leading to complete device takeover, network surveillance, and infrastructure compromise.

Affected Products

• Wi-Fi AP UNIT AC-WPS-11ac series devices
• Inaba Denki Sangyo networking equipment with vulnerable firmware versions
• Enterprise and commercial wireless infrastructure deployments using AC-WPS-11ac hardware

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-04-04 - Security advisory published by Inaba Denki Sangyo
• 2025-04-09 - CVE-2025-27797 published to NVD
• 2025-04-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-27797

Vulnerability Analysis

This OS command injection vulnerability allows authenticated remote attackers to inject and execute arbitrary operating system commands through a specific service running on the AC-WPS-11ac series devices. Command injection vulnerabilities occur when user-supplied input is improperly sanitized before being passed to system shell functions or command interpreters.

The attack requires network access to the device's management interface and valid authentication credentials. Once authenticated, an attacker can craft malicious input containing shell metacharacters or command sequences that break out of the intended command context. This allows execution of arbitrary commands with the privileges of the service process, typically running as root on embedded devices.

Successful exploitation can result in complete confidentiality breach through data exfiltration, integrity compromise through configuration manipulation or firmware modification, and availability impact through service disruption or device bricking.

Root Cause

The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization in a specific service within the AC-WPS-11ac firmware. User-controllable input is concatenated or interpolated directly into system commands without proper escaping or parameterization. Common injection points in embedded network devices include configuration parameters, diagnostic functions, firmware update mechanisms, and network utility wrappers.

The underlying issue is the use of shell command execution functions (such as system(), popen(), or shell script invocations) with unsanitized user input, allowing shell metacharacters like ;, |, &&, ||, or backticks to introduce additional commands.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring the attacker to have network connectivity to the vulnerable device's management interface and valid login credentials. The attack flow typically involves:

1. Authenticating to the device's web-based management interface or CLI
2. Identifying injectable parameters in device configuration or utility functions
3. Crafting malicious payloads containing OS commands embedded with shell metacharacters
4. Submitting the payload through the vulnerable service endpoint
5. Achieving command execution with the service's privilege level

Exploitation may involve payloads such as command chaining with semicolons, pipe operators to redirect output, or subshell execution to spawn reverse shells. Detailed technical information is available in the JVN Security Vulnerability Report and Inaba Security Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-27797

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual outbound network connections from AC-WPS-11ac devices to unknown IP addresses
• Unexpected processes or services running on the access point devices
• Authentication logs showing login attempts followed by configuration changes
• Network traffic containing shell metacharacters in management interface requests
• Modifications to device configuration files or firmware outside scheduled maintenance

Detection Strategies

• Monitor HTTP/HTTPS traffic to device management interfaces for suspicious parameter values containing shell metacharacters (;, |, &&, $(), backticks)
• Implement network segmentation to isolate management interfaces and enable focused monitoring
• Deploy intrusion detection signatures for common command injection payloads targeting embedded devices
• Review device authentication logs for anomalous access patterns or brute-force attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on AC-WPS-11ac devices if supported by firmware
• Implement centralized log collection for all network infrastructure devices
• Configure alerts for any configuration changes to wireless access points
• Monitor for DNS queries or network connections originating from access point IP addresses that indicate reverse shell or data exfiltration activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-27797

Immediate Actions Required

• Review the Inaba Security Advisory for vendor-recommended remediation steps
• Restrict network access to device management interfaces using firewall rules and VLANs
• Implement strong, unique credentials for all AC-WPS-11ac device accounts
• Audit and remove unnecessary user accounts from affected devices
• Monitor affected devices for signs of compromise

Patch Information

Organizations should consult the official Inaba Security Advisory PDF for firmware update information and patch availability. The JVN Security Vulnerability Report provides additional coordination details. Contact Inaba Denki Sangyo support for specific firmware versions that address this vulnerability.

Workarounds

• Isolate management interfaces on a dedicated VLAN accessible only to authorized administrators
• Implement network-level access controls (ACLs) restricting management interface access to specific source IP addresses
• Disable remote management access when not required for active administration
• Deploy a VPN requirement for all remote access to device management functions
• Consider placing a web application firewall (WAF) in front of device management interfaces to filter malicious input patterns

# Example network segmentation configuration
# Restrict management access to authorized admin subnet only
# Apply to network firewall or switch ACL

# Allow management access from admin VLAN only
iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -s 10.0.100.0/24 -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -s 10.0.100.0/24 -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT
# Deny all other management access
iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP