What is CVE-2023-33538?

CVE-2023-33538 is a high-severity vulnerability in TP-Link Tl-Wr740n, classified under Command Injection. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2023-06-07.

How severe is CVE-2023-33538?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2023-33538 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2023-33538 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-06-16), indicating it is being actively exploited. 9 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

RCE in TP-Link Tl-Wr740n

CVE-2023-33538

TP-Link TL-WR940N V2/V4, TL-WR841N V8/V10, and TL-WR740N V1/V2 was discovered to contain a command injection vulnerability via the component /userRpm/WlanNetworkRpm .

Vulnerability class: Command Injection (OS Command Injection)

Published 2023-06-07 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.416 (98.7th percentile), scored 2026-10-18.

Moderate probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — watch for active exploitation reports. 99th percentile — 98.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.419 · newest: 0.416 · change: -0.003

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-77 — Command Injection

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2025-06-16. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2025-07-07.

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

github.com/a101e-IoTvul/iotvul/blob/main/tp-link/3/TL-WR940N_TL-WR841N_userRpm_… (Exploit, Third Party Advisory, Broken Link)
web.archive.org/web/20230609111043/https://github.com/a101e-IoTvul/iotvul/blob/… (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
www.secpod.com/blog/cisa-issues-warning-on-active-exploitation-of-tp-link-vulne… (Third Party Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Product)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-33538?: CVE-2023-33538 is a high-severity vulnerability in TP-Link Tl-Wr740n, classified under Command Injection. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2023-06-07.
How severe is CVE-2023-33538?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2023-33538 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2023-33538 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-06-16), indicating it is being actively exploited. 9 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.