CVE-2018-25316
Auth Bypass in Tenda W308R Firmware 5.07.48
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2018-25316 is a critical-severity Authentication Bypass by Spoofing (CWE-290) vulnerability in Tenda W308R Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.3 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Adversary-in-the-Middle (T1557); ranked at the 50th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to IA-2 (Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)) and IA-3 (Device Identification and Authentication) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2018-25316 is a cookie session weakness vulnerability affecting the Tenda W308R v2 router on firmware version V5.07.48. The flaw arises from insufficient session validation, enabling unauthenticated attackers to modify DNS settings via crafted requests. It is classified under CWE-290 and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), marking it as critical due to its high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability by sending GET requests to the /goform/AdvSetDns endpoint with a specially crafted "admin language" cookie. Successful exploitation allows attackers to alter the device's DNS server configurations, redirecting user traffic to malicious sites for purposes such as phishing or further compromise.
Advisories and proof-of-concept exploits are documented in key references, including Exploit-DB at https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44373 and a Vulncheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/tenda-w308r-v2-cookie-session-weakness-dns-change. Security practitioners should review these sources for detailed reproduction steps and any vendor-recommended mitigations.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2018-21837
Vulnerability Data
Tenda W308R v2 V5.07.48 contains a cookie session weakness vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to modify DNS settings by exploiting insufficient session validation. Attackers can send GET requests to the goform/AdvSetDns endpoint with a crafted admin language cookie to change…
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DNS servers and redirect user traffic to malicious sites.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V6.4.3V10.4.16V10.5.1V11.4.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Proper unique identification and authentication of users directly stops spoofing-based bypass of authentication.
Device identification and authentication before connection prevents spoofing of devices to bypass auth.
Authentication of non-organizational users blocks external spoofing attempts against the scheme.
Authenticator management ensures credentials cannot be easily spoofed or reused to bypass authentication.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Proofing and binding identities reduces spoofing opportunities during enrollment but does not address runtime authentication implementation flaws.
Requiring authentication of users/services/hardware directly counters spoofing-based bypass when strong methods are used.
Protecting, conveying, and verifying identity assertions specifically prevents the spoofing that enables authentication bypass.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Access control policy reduces spoofing opportunities but does not prescribe authentication mechanisms.
Identity management supports unique identities but does not guarantee resistance to spoofing.
Authentication information management directly addresses credential handling that prevents spoofing.
Access rights assignment limits exposure but does not enforce authentication strength.
Privileged access rights reduce attack surface but do not prevent spoofing of authentication.
Network security can limit spoofing vectors but does not address application-level authentication.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-290
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-290
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-290