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Threats / Zyxel / CVE-2023-33009
CVE-2023-33009 · EUVD no mirror located · GCVE no mirror located Verified 2026-06-22

Zyxel Multiple Firewalls vulnerability

Zyxel firewalls contain a buffer overflow in the notification function allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to cause denial-of-service or execute code.

Verdict

Today item — known-exploited.

An unauthenticated attacker can exploit a buffer overflow vulnerability in multiple Zyxel firewall models to trigger denial-of-service conditions or achieve remote code execution without authentication.

CISA KEV Yes · 2023-06-053EPSS 0.28144 (verify live)4
01

Is it exploitable?

— the evidence, ranked above the score
Reported exploitation
4 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-06-05).
CISA KEV ↗Confirmed
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.28144 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Zyxel, Multiple Firewalls. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
NVD ↗Reported
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-120 Buffer Copy without Size Check — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
NVD ↗Reported
02

Who’s exploiting it?

— attribution turns risk into urgency
Attribution not established

No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.

03

Why it matters

— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board
1

Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1

Attacker
I craft a malicious input to the notification function that exceeds buffer boundaries.
Business
The firewall becomes unstable or unresponsive, disrupting network traffic and security operations.
2

Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2

Attacker
I leverage the overflow to inject and execute arbitrary code on the compromised firewall.
Business
The attacker gains control of a critical security perimeter device, enabling lateral movement and data exfiltration.
04

What to do

— defensible action
  • Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05

Coverage & confidence

— what we know, and what we don’t

Established (cited)

  • KEV listing (CISA)
  • EPSS probability (FIRST)
  • 4 reported-exploitation source(s)
  • CWE weakness mapping (NVD)
  • Catalogued by Zyxel (CNA)
  • Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden

  • No EUVD / GCVE mirror in feed — single-authority dependency for the identifier.
  • EPSS & exposure are time-varying; verify live at the source.
  • Threat-actor attribution not established from feed data — absence of a name is not absence of compromise.
  • No finder/reporter credit recorded in the public CVE entry — the work behind this find is unattributed.
  • Disclosure & credit2
    Catalogued by ZyxelCNA
    Credited with finding itNo finder named in the public CVE record — the work behind this find is unattributed.