FXC AE1021, AE1021PE: code execution flaw under attack

What is affected

FXC AE1021, AE1021PE is mostly run by companies, schools and public bodies, not on home computers. You are unlikely to have it yourself, but organisations that hold your data may. Breaches that start with flaws like this one are how personal data ends up leaked.

FXC AE1021 and AE1021PE contain an OS command injection vulnerability that allows authenticated users to execute commands via a network.

What an attacker can do

This is a code execution flaw. It lets an attacker run their own commands or programs on the affected system. In practice that usually means taking it over: installing malware, stealing data or using it to reach other devices on the same network.

How it is reached

Over the internet or network

Access the attacker needs

A basic user account

Does the victim have to do something?

No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

1. At home: nothing to install. Keep your own devices updated and use a different password for every service, so that a breach at one organisation does not open your other accounts.
2. If you administer FXC AE1021, AE1021PE at work: apply the vendor's fix or mitigation now and review logs for signs of compromise, because the flaw was being exploited before it was listed.
3. If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Vendor advisories and fixes

• fxc.jpwww.fxc.jp/news/20231206

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on December 21, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by January 11, 2024, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 50% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 8.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

An OS command injection vulnerability exists in AE1021PE firmware version 2.0.9 and earlier and AE1021 firmware version 2.0.9 and earlier. If this vulnerability is exploited, an arbitrary OS command may be executed by an attacker who can log in to the product.