Skip to main content
Live Webinar with SANS (June 25)— Agentic CTI Automation for Fun & ProfitRegister Free
Mallory
High

OS Command Injection in TP-Link Archer AX53 dnsmasq Module

IdentifiersCVE-2026-30818CWE-78· Improper Neutralization of Special…

CVE-2026-30818 is an OS command injection vulnerability in the dnsmasq module of TP-Link Archer AX53 v1.0. The flaw is caused by insufficient input validation when the device processes a specially crafted configuration file. An authenticated attacker on an adjacent network can exploit this condition to inject and execute arbitrary operating system commands in the context of the affected device. The issue affects TP-Link Archer AX53 v1.0 firmware versions prior to 1.7.1 Build 20260213.

Share:
For your environment

Are you exposed to this one?

Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.

ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code or command execution on the router. As a result, an attacker may modify device configuration, access sensitive information handled or stored by the device, and further compromise overall system integrity. Given the stated impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability, exploitation could also enable broader device takeover or service disruption depending on execution context.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, restrict administrative access to the router to trusted hosts only, minimize adjacent-network exposure, and prevent untrusted users from supplying or importing configuration files. Monitor for unauthorized configuration changes and suspicious administrative activity. Segmentation of management access and disabling unnecessary administrative pathways may reduce exposure until the firmware update can be applied.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade TP-Link Archer AX53 v1.0 to firmware version 1.7.1 Build 20260213 or later, as versions before this release are affected. Apply the vendor-provided fixed firmware from TP-Link support channels and verify that the device is running the updated build after installation.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
TP-LinkArcher Ax53 Firmwareoperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.
Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity1

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.