CVE-2022-23178
Auth Bypass in Crestron Hd-Md4X2-4K-E Firmware 1.0.0.2159
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2022-23178 is a critical-severity Improper Authentication (CWE-287) vulnerability in Crestron Hd-Md4X2-4K-E Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, ranked in the top 0.5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; 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 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and IA-2 (Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)) — 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-2022-23178 is an authentication bypass vulnerability affecting the administrative web interface on Crestron HD-MD4X2-4K-E HDMI switchers running firmware version 1.0.0.2159. Unauthenticated requests to the aj.html endpoint return a JSON document containing the uname and upassword fields, which hold valid administrative credentials for the device.
An attacker with network access to the web interface can retrieve these credentials without any prior authentication and then use them to log in with full administrative privileges. Successful exploitation grants complete control over the device configuration and operations, consistent with the CVSS 9.8 rating reflecting high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The RedTeam Pentesting advisory RT-SA-2021-009 published details of the issue and confirmed the credential disclosure behavior on the affected Crestron model. The EPSS score remains elevated near its observed peak of 0.9364, indicating sustained exploitation interest after disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-28269
Vulnerability Data
An issue was discovered on Crestron HD-MD4X2-4K-E 1.0.0.2159 devices. When the administrative web interface of the HDMI switcher is accessed unauthenticated, user credentials are disclosed that are valid to authenticate to the web interface. Specifically, aj.html sends a JSON document…
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with uname and upassword fields.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI
Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 8 hardening rules · 5 OS baselines
V6.4.4V6.5.4V6.5.5V6.5.7
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly enforces authentication before any access to aj.html, blocking the unauthenticated credential disclosure.
Requires successful identification and authentication prior to granting access to the administrative interface or sensitive endpoints.
Limits the set of actions (such as returning uname/upassword) that the device may perform without prior 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.
PR.AA-03 directly enforces authentication mechanisms that eliminate most improper-authentication defects, yet CWE-287 spans additional vectors (missing checks, flawed protocols, session handling) that one control does not fully close.
PR.AA-04 directly enables verification of identity assertions (mostly preventing CWE-287 in that scope) yet leaves many other authentication failure modes unaddressed (only partial prevention overall).
PR.AA-01 supplies and governs credentials/tokens that authentication relies on, removing some weak-credential cases, yet leaves verification logic, missing checks, and protocol flaws untouched.
PR.AA-02 ensures valid enrollment and unique credential binding, which reduces some improper-auth risks at issuance time but leaves runtime claim verification untouched, so each direction only partially addresses the other.
PR.PS-01 can enforce auth-related settings via hardened baselines and default reviews, blocking some config-based instances of CWE-287, yet leaves code-level auth flaws untouched so neither direction reaches mostly.
Patching/maintenance can remediate some known auth vulnerabilities after deployment (partial forward) but does not address the design or implementation of authentication logic itself (none reverse).
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.
Requiring authentication methods whose strength matches the sensitivity of the data and mandating multi-factor authentication directly blocks attempts to access resources without proving identity.
Verifying user identity before issuing replacement credentials and forcing changes after compromise reduces the likelihood that authentication bypass can be achieved through stolen or weak credentials.
Mandating segregated approval and oversight for non-human identities reduces the chance that weak or orphaned credentials can be exploited for unauthorized authentication.
Requiring authentication mechanisms and technical parameters for secure connections ensures that network services verify user identity before granting access, preventing exploitation of missing or weak authentication.
Security requirements specified early and verified through testing drive the consistent implementation of authentication mechanisms, decreasing the likelihood that authentication steps are omitted or incorrectly applied.
Defining the required level of trust in entity identity and the authentication mechanisms to achieve it ensures that authentication is explicitly addressed rather than omitted.