Detect CVE-2025-48703 - CWP Control Web Panel OS Command Injection in Elastic Security
Detects exploitation of CVE-2025-48703, an OS command injection vulnerability (CWE-78) in CWP Control Web Panel. This KEV-listed vulnerability allows attackers to inject and execute arbitrary OS commands through the web panel interface, potentially leading to full server compromise.
MITRE ATT&CK
Elastic Detection Query
sequence by host.name with maxspan=30s
[process where event.type == "start"
and process.parent.name : ("httpd", "apache2", "nginx", "cwpsrv", "php", "php-fpm")
and process.name : ("bash", "sh", "dash", "perl", "python*", "ruby", "curl", "wget", "nc", "ncat", "socat")]
[process where event.type == "start"
and process.command_line : ("*id*", "*whoami*", "*passwd*", "*shadow*", "*/tmp/*", "*/dev/shm*", "*base64*", "*wget*", "*curl*")]EQL sequence detecting a two-stage OS command injection pattern: web process spawning a shell interpreter followed by execution of reconnaissance or data exfiltration commands on the same host within 30 seconds.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Legitimate CWP server management operations executed through the web interface
- System health check scripts triggered by the CWP monitoring subsystem
- Authorized remote script execution via CWP terminal emulator feature
- Third-party integrations that execute shell commands through the CWP API
Other platforms for CVE-2025-48703
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1CWP Command Injection via API Parameter
Expected signal: Linux audit log EXECVE event showing 'id' executed by the web server user (www-data/apache/cwp); web access log entry with URL-encoded semicolon in query parameter
- Test 2Reverse Shell Establishment Post-CWP Exploitation
Expected signal: Process creation event for bash spawned by www-data user with -i flag and /dev/tcp redirect; outbound TCP connection to attacker IP on port 4444 from the CWP host
- Test 3Credential Harvesting via /etc/shadow Access
Expected signal: Audit log showing www-data user attempting to read /etc/shadow; base64 encoding command in process arguments; file access event on /etc/shadow
- Test 4Dropper Download via Injected wget Command
Expected signal: wget process spawned by www-data with external URL argument; outbound HTTP GET to attacker-controlled server; file creation event in /tmp by web service user; chmod execution on downloaded file
Unlock Pro Content
Get the full detection package for CVE-2025-48703 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.