CVE-2025-23170

The Versa Director SD-WAN orchestration platform includes functionality to initiate SSH sessions to remote CPEs and the Director shell via Shell-In-A-Box. The underlying Python script, shell-connect.py, is vulnerable to command injection through the user argument. This allows an attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the system.

Exploitation Status:

Versa Networks is not aware of any reported instance where this vulnerability was exploited. Proof of concept for this vulnerability has been disclosed by third party security researchers.

Workarounds or Mitigation:

There are no workarounds to disable the GUI option. Versa recommends that Director be upgraded to one of the remediated software versions.

Weakness

The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component.

Extended Description

Command injection vulnerabilities typically occur when:

Many protocols and products have their own custom command language. While OS or shell command strings are frequently discovered and targeted, developers may not realize that these other command languages might also be vulnerable to attacks. Command injection is a common problem with wrapper programs.

Potential Mitigations

• Assume all input is malicious. Use an “accept known good” input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
• When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, “boat” may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as “red” or “blue.”
• Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code’s environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/136.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/15.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/183.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/248.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/40.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/43.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/75.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/76.html

References

• https://security-portal.versa-networks.com/emailbulletins/68526bc7dc94d6b9f2faf717
• https://support.versa-networks.com/support/solutions/articles/23000024323-release-21-2-3
• https://support.versa-networks.com/support/solutions/articles/23000025680-release-22-1-2
• https://support.versa-networks.com/support/solutions/articles/23000026033-release-22-1-3
• https://support.versa-networks.com/support/solutions/articles/23000026708-release-22-1-4