CVE-2025-46628 Overview
CVE-2025-46628 is a command injection vulnerability in the ate management service of the Tenda RX2 Pro router running firmware version 16.03.30.14. The service fails to validate or sanitize input passed to an ifconfig command, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root. Exploitation requires only a crafted UDP packet sent to the ate service when it is enabled. The flaw is mapped to [CWE-284] (Improper Access Control) and affects devices exposing the ate interface on the network.
Critical Impact
An unauthenticated attacker reachable over the network can obtain a root shell on the router by sending a single crafted UDP packet to the ate service.
Affected Products
- Tenda RX2 Pro hardware (cpe:2.3:h:tenda:rx2_pro)
- Tenda RX2 Pro firmware version 16.03.30.14
- Deployments where the ate management service is enabled and reachable over UDP
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-05-01 - CVE-2025-46628 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- 2025-05-27 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-46628
Vulnerability Analysis
The ate (Auto Test Engineering) service is a manufacturer diagnostic interface present on the Tenda RX2 Pro. When enabled, it listens for UDP packets carrying commands intended to support hardware bring-up and factory test operations. The service parses attacker-controlled input and passes it to the ifconfig command without validation or sanitization. Because the parser concatenates packet contents into a shell command line, embedded shell metacharacters break out of the intended argument context and execute as separate commands.
The service runs with root privileges, so injected commands inherit full administrative control of the device. No authentication is performed on incoming UDP packets, and there is no rate limiting or source validation. A single UDP packet is sufficient to spawn a bound shell, modify firmware, or pivot into adjacent network segments. Full technical reproduction details are available in the Uturn Blog writeup on CVE-2025-46628.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of input validation in the ate command handler. The handler trusts UDP payload contents and forwards them directly to a shell invocation of ifconfig. There is no allowlist for permitted characters, no argument array execution, and no privilege separation between the network parser and command execution layer.
Attack Vector
The attack vector is network-based. An attacker on the same LAN, or any network path reaching the device, sends a crafted UDP packet to the ate service. The payload embeds shell metacharacters that terminate the ifconfig argument and append arbitrary commands. Authentication and user interaction are not required. The vulnerability is exploitable only when ate is enabled, which is typically the case on factory or unprovisioned units and on units where the service has not been disabled after deployment.
No public proof-of-concept exploit or Metasploit module has been published in ExploitDB at the time of writing.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-46628
Indicators of Compromise
- Inbound UDP traffic to the Tenda RX2 Pro ate service port from untrusted sources
- UDP payloads containing shell metacharacters such as ;, |, &, or backticks targeted at the router management interface
- New listening sockets or unexpected child processes spawned by the ate service
- Unexpected outbound connections originating from the router to attacker-controlled infrastructure
Detection Strategies
- Monitor network telemetry for UDP traffic directed at Tenda RX2 Pro devices, particularly packets containing shell control characters in the payload
- Inspect router system logs for ifconfig invocations with unexpected arguments or for processes spawned outside the normal ate workflow
- Compare running process trees against a known-good baseline for the firmware version 16.03.30.14
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable network flow logging on segments containing IoT and SOHO routers, and alert on inbound UDP to management services
- Track configuration drift on Tenda devices, including changes to enabled services and listening ports
- Correlate router-originated outbound connections with endpoint telemetry to identify post-exploitation pivoting
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-46628
Immediate Actions Required
- Disable the ate management service on all Tenda RX2 Pro devices in production environments
- Block inbound UDP traffic to Tenda RX2 Pro management ports at upstream firewalls and segment IoT devices from user and server networks
- Inventory all Tenda RX2 Pro units running firmware 16.03.30.14 and confirm the state of the ate service
Patch Information
No vendor advisory or fixed firmware version has been published in the references associated with this CVE. Contact Tenda support through the Tenda official website to confirm patch availability for firmware 16.03.30.14. Until a patched firmware is released, treat affected devices as exposed and apply compensating controls.
Workarounds
- Restrict the device management plane to a dedicated VLAN and apply ACLs that drop UDP packets from untrusted sources
- If the ate service cannot be disabled through the web interface, restrict physical and network access to the device until vendor guidance is available
- Replace internet-facing or shared-network deployments with a router that receives current security updates
# Example upstream firewall rule to block inbound UDP to a Tenda RX2 Pro management IP
# Replace <ROUTER_IP> with the device address and adjust the port if a specific ate port is identified
iptables -A FORWARD -p udp -d <ROUTER_IP> -j DROP
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
