Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-25131

Auth Bypass in Cyberpower Powerpanel ≤ 4.8.6

Auth Bypass
Published
24 April 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0097 59th percentile
Risk Priority 71 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-25131 is a critical-severity Use of Default Password (CWE-1393) vulnerability in Cyberpower Powerpanel. Its CVSS base score is 9.4 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Default Accounts (T1078.001); ranked in the top 41% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A07:2025 Authentication Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Use of default password vulnerability in PowerPanel Business Local/Remote for Windows v4.8.6 and earlier, PowerPanel Business Management for Windows v4.8.6 and earlier, PowerPanel Business Local/Remote for Linux 32bit v4.8.6 and earlier, PowerPanel Business Local/Remote for Linux 64bit v4.8.6 and earlier,…

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PowerPanel Business Management for Linux 32bit v4.8.6 and earlier, PowerPanel Business Management for Linux 64bit v4.8.6 and earlier, PowerPanel Business Local/Remote for MacOS v4.8.6 and earlier, and PowerPanel Business Management for MacOS v4.8.6 and earlier allows remote attackers to log in to the server directly to perform administrative functions. Upon installation or upon first login, the application does not ask the user to change the 'admin' password.

CWE(s)
CWE-1393CWE-287

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1078.001 Default Accounts Stealth
Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of a default account as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion.
attack.mitre.org →
T1078 Valid Accounts Stealth
Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of existing accounts as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion.
attack.mitre.org →
T1133 External Remote Services Persistence
Adversaries may leverage external-facing remote services to initially access and/or persist within a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1040 Network Sniffing Credential Access
Adversaries may passively sniff network traffic to capture information about an environment, including authentication material passed over the network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1134 Access Token Manipulation Stealth
Adversaries may modify access tokens to operate under a different user or system security context to perform actions and bypass access controls.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-33625Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel
CVE-2024-34025Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel
CVE-2023-25133Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel
CVE-2024-32735Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel
CVE-2023-25132Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel
CVE-2024-32053Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel
CVE-2024-31409Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel
CVE-2024-32737Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel
CVE-2024-32047Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel
CVE-2024-32736Same product: Cyberpower Powerpanel

Affected Assets

cyberpower
powerpanel
≤ 4.8.6 · ≤ 4.8.6 · ≤ 4.8.6

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 8 hardening rules · 5 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V6.4.4
  • V6.5.4
  • V6.5.5
  • V6.5.7

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.

IA-7 Cryptographic Module Authentication
addresses: CWE-287 CWE-1393

Directly requires implementation of compliant authentication mechanisms to cryptographic modules, preventing improper authentication.

AC-9 Previous Logon Notification
addresses: CWE-287

Detects unauthorized successful logons resulting from improper authentication implementations.

AT-1 Policy and Procedures
addresses: CWE-287

Documented procedures ensure personnel are trained on authentication mechanisms, tangibly lowering the risk of improper authentication being exploited.

AT-2 Literacy Training and Awareness
addresses: CWE-287

Security awareness training instructs users on secure authentication practices and avoiding credential compromise.

AT-3 Role-based Training
addresses: CWE-287

Training on authentication mechanisms and best practices decreases the occurrence of improper authentication.

AU-10 Non-repudiation
addresses: CWE-287

Non-repudiation requires strong authentication mechanisms to irrefutably attribute performed actions to specific individuals or processes.

AU-14 Session Audit
addresses: CWE-287

Session content review can reveal authentication bypasses or failures in session establishment.

AU-6 Audit Record Review, Analysis, and Reporting
addresses: CWE-287

Review of authentication-related audit records can detect improper authentication mechanisms or bypasses.

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-01 full match
prevents

Credential management directly requires replacing default passwords with unique, strong credentials.

PR.AA-03 mostly match
prevents

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 mostly match
prevents

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.PS-01 mostly match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines explicitly prohibit default passwords, covering most of the weakness but not all identity-management aspects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning will discover default-password instances, enabling remediation, yet does not itself prevent their initial use.

PR.AA-02 partial match
prevents

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.

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.

A.8.5 Secure authentication full match
prevents

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.

A.5.17 Authentication information mostly match
prevents

Mandates secure handling and change of authentication secrets, directly addressing default passwords.

A.8.9 Configuration management mostly match
prevents

Configuration management processes typically enforce changing defaults during hardening.

A.5.16 Identity management partial match
prevents

Mandating segregated approval and oversight for non-human identities reduces the chance that weak or orphaned credentials can be exploited for unauthorized authentication.

A.8.21 Security of network services partial match
mitigates

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.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

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.

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` (authoritative 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-287
RHEL 7 (3 rules)
  • V-204425 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the SSH daemon does not allow authentication using an empty password. prevents CWE-287
  • V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-287
  • V-204424 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not allow accounts configured with blank or null passwords. prevents CWE-287
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-287
Ubuntu 22.04 (1 rule)
  • V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-287
Ubuntu 24.04 (2 rules)
  • V-270675 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS when booted must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-287
  • V-270714 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must not allow accounts configured in Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) with blank or null passwords. prevents CWE-287

References