Security Resilience

CVE-2023-49256

Exposed Creds in Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp Firmware ≤ 2310271149

Exposed Creds
Published
12 January 2024
Modified
20 June 2025
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0047 39th percentile
Risk Priority 57 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-49256 is a high-severity Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key (CWE-321) vulnerability in Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Credentials In Files (T1552.001); ranked at the 39th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to IA-5 (Authenticator Management) and SC-12 (Cryptographic Key Establishment and Management) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A04:2025 Cryptographic FailuresA07:2025 Authentication Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

It is possible to download the configuration backup without authorization and decrypt included passwords using hardcoded static key.

CWE(s)
CWE-321CWE-798

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1001.002 Steganography Command And Control
Adversaries may use steganographic techniques to hide command and control traffic to make detection efforts more difficult.
attack.mitre.org →
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-49253Same product: Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp
CVE-2023-49262Same product: Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp
CVE-2023-49259Same product: Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp
CVE-2023-49258Same product: Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp
CVE-2023-49260Same product: Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp
CVE-2023-49261Same product: Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp
CVE-2023-49255Same product: Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp
CVE-2023-49254Same product: Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp
CVE-2023-49257Same product: Hongdian H8951-4G-Esp
CVE-2023-42492Shared CWE-321, CWE-798

Affected Assets

hongdian
h8951-4g-esp firmware
≤ 2310271149

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SC-12 Cryptographic Key Establishment and Management good match

Requiring cryptographic keys to be established and managed according to defined requirements prevents developers from embedding static unchangeable keys.

IA-5 Authenticator Management good match

Authenticator management requires secure distribution and handling of credentials, structurally discouraging hard-coded values.

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 partial match
blocks

PR.AA-01's credential/key-management processes can reduce the incentive to embed secrets but do not address or detect hard-coded values in source code, so the weakness remains fully possible.

PR.DS-01 partial match
blocks

Data-at-rest protection policies require proper key management and therefore discourage hard-coded keys.

PR.DS-02 partial match
blocks

Data-in-transit protection similarly depends on non-hard-coded keys for encryption.

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Configuration baselines and reviews can prohibit hard-coded keys in deployed artifacts.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure-SDLC activities such as code review and secret scanning directly prevent embedding static keys.

PR.AA-02 none match
blocks

PR.AA-02 addresses human identity proofing and per-person credential issuance at enrollment; it has no bearing on whether developers embed static credentials in software.

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.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.6.3 Information security awareness, education and training partial match
blocks

Education on secure configuration practices discourages technical staff from embedding or relying on hard-coded credentials in systems and applications.

References