How severe is CVE-2022-30525?

CVE-2022-30525 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-30525?

Affected package information for CVE-2022-30525 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2022-30525?

No fixed release is recorded for CVE-2022-30525 yet. Track the upstream advisory, and apply the exposure-reduction steps below in the meantime.

How do I detect CVE-2022-30525 in my code and dependencies?

Identify every host running the affected component and compare the installed build against the fixed version below — for source-built or distro-packaged software the version string, not a lockfile, is the source of truth (`dpkg -l`, `rpm -q`, or the binary's own `--version`).

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-30525 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Is CVE-2022-30525 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 26 known exploit references for CVE-2022-30525, including 1 documented proof-of-concept exploit on Exploit-DB and 17 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-30525?

CVE-2022-30525 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 99.9%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2022-30525 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2022-30525 (Zyxel Multiple Firewalls OS Command Injection Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-05-16. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-06-06. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-30525?

CVE-2022-30525 is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2022-30525?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2022-30525, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. 4 Metasploit modules reference CVE-2022-30525, which lowers the barrier to weaponization. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2022-30525 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-30525 was published on May 12, 2022 and was last updated on October 21, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🛡️

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

CRITICAL severity

CVE-2022-30525

CRITICAL

CVE-2022-30525 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) OS Command Injection vulnerability. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-05-16) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

A OS command injection vulnerability in the CGI program of Zyxel USG FLEX 100(W) firmware versions 5.00 through 5.21 Patch 1, USG FLEX 200 firmware versions 5.00 through 5.21 Patch…

Published

May 12, 2022

Updated

Oct 21, 2025

Affected

16 products

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

26 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 22, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-05-16. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-06-06.
CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2022-30525.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

99.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2022-30525 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 394,803 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

A OS command injection vulnerability in the CGI program of Zyxel USG FLEX 100(W) firmware versions 5.00 through 5.21 Patch 1, USG FLEX 200 firmware versions 5.00 through 5.21 Patch 1, USG FLEX 500 firmware versions 5.00 through 5.21 Patch 1, USG FLEX 700 firmware versions 5.00 through 5.21 Patch 1, USG FLEX 50(W) firmware versions 5.10 through 5.21 Patch 1, USG20(W)-VPN firmware versions 5.10 through 5.21 Patch 1, ATP series firmware versions 5.10 through 5.21 Patch 1, VPN series firmware versions 4.60 through 5.21 Patch 1, which could allow an attacker to modify specific files and then execute some OS commands on a vulnerable device.

Affected Products

16 products · 16 configurations

atp100 firmwarezyxel

≥ 5.10 && < 5.30

range

atp100w firmwarezyxel

≥ 5.10 && < 5.30

range

atp200 firmwarezyxel

≥ 5.10 && < 5.30

range

atp500 firmwarezyxel

≥ 5.10 && < 5.30

range

atp700 firmwarezyxel

≥ 5.10 && < 5.30

range

atp800 firmwarezyxel

≥ 5.10 && < 5.30

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-50946remotehardware

Zyxel USG FLEX 5.21 - OS Command Injection

by Valentin Lobstein · Jun 3, 2022

Exploit-DB Source

Detection & mitigation playbook

Vulnerability

Detect
Identify every host running the affected component and compare the installed build against the fixed version below — for source-built or distro-packaged software the version string, not a lockfile, is the source of truth (`dpkg -l`, `rpm -q`, or the binary's own `--version`).
Remediation status
No fixed release is recorded for CVE-2022-30525 yet. Track the upstream advisory, and apply the exposure-reduction steps below in the meantime.
Mitigate without a patch
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

How to detect CVE-2022-30525

A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:

nuclei -id cve-2022-30525 -u https://target

Template: Zyxel Firewall - OS Command Injection
Severity: critical
Impact: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to unauthorized remote code execution, compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.
Remediation: Apply the latest security patches or firmware updates provided by Zyxel to mitigate this vulnerability.

Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (h1ei1, prajiteshsingh), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2022-30525 in your dependencies?

Find it across , including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

9.8/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE Classification

CWE-78OS Command Injection

Weaponization

Timeline

Disclosed

May 12, 2022

KEV added

May 16, 2022

First exploit

Jun 3, 2022

Last updated

Oct 21, 2025

Identifiers

CVE-2022-30525

References

Webzyxel.com Webpacketstormsecurity.com Webpacketstormsecurity.com Webpacketstormsecurity.com Webpacketstormsecurity.com Webcisa.gov

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is critical severity; 1 of 8 other CVEs with CWE-78 is rated as high or higher (top: critical).

CVE-2026-113723CVE-2026-115586CVE-2026-113726CVE-2026-113776CVE-2026-113732CVE-2026-113722CVE-2026-113725CVE-2026-112900Browse all CWE-78

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDCISA KEVFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedOct 21, 2025

CVE-2022-30525

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Description

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Remediation status

Mitigate without a patch

How to detect CVE-2022-30525

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2022-30525 in your dependencies?