CVE-2021-31505
Published: 29 June 2021
Summary
CVE-2021-31505 is a medium-severity Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798) vulnerability in Arlo Q Plus Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 6.8 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked in the top 45.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2021-18405
Vulnerability details
This vulnerability allows attackers with physical access to escalate privileges on affected installations of Arlo Q Plus 1.9.0.3_278. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the SSH service. The device can be booted into…
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a special operation mode where hard-coded credentials are accepted for SSH authentication. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-12890.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Enables users to notice when hard-coded credentials have been exploited for unauthorized access.
Security training explicitly warns against hard-coded credentials, lowering their use in systems.
Policy and procedures prohibit hard-coded credentials in favor of managed authentication.
External identity providers eliminate the need for hard-coded credentials in applications.
Changing default authenticators prior to first use and protecting content prevents use of hard-coded credentials.
Central credential stores and rotation policies remove the need for hard-coded credentials in configuration files or code.
Intelligence programs surface reports of campaigns that abuse hard-coded credentials in products, prompting removal or replacement and thereby reducing successful exploitation.
Planned investment enables secure credential storage and management systems instead of hard-coded credentials.