Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-13966

Zkteco Biotime ≤ 9.0.4

Published
27 May 2025
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v4 6.9
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/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:X
EPSS Score 0.0033 26th percentile
Risk Priority 42 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-13966 is a medium-severity Use of Default Password (CWE-1393) vulnerability in Zkteco Biotime. Its CVSS base score is 6.9 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Default Accounts (T1078.001); ranked at the 26th 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 CM-6 (Configuration Settings) and IA-5 (Authenticator Management) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A07:2025 Authentication Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

ZKTeco BioTime allows unauthenticated attackers to enumerate usernames and log in as any user with a password unchanged from the default value '123456'. Users should change their passwords (located under the Attendance Settings tab as "Self-Password").

CWE(s)
CWE-1393

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 →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-51142Same product: Zkteco Biotime
CVE-2023-38949Same product: Zkteco Biotime
CVE-2023-38952Same product: Zkteco Biotime
CVE-2024-6523Same product: Zkteco Biotime
CVE-2023-38950Same product: Zkteco Biotime
CVE-2023-51141Same product: Zkteco Biotime
CVE-2023-38951Same product: Zkteco Biotime
CVE-2025-1878Shared CWE-1393
CVE-2025-22938Shared CWE-1393
CVE-2026-8672Shared CWE-1393

Affected Assets

zkteco
biotime
≤ 9.0.4

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

IA-5 Authenticator Management good match

Authenticator management requires verification of identity at initial distribution and secure handling that directly stops default passwords from remaining in use.

CM-6 Configuration Settings good match

Configuration settings establish the most restrictive secure baselines, which include changing or disabling default passwords.

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.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-03 partial match
prevents

Authentication policies can enforce non-default passwords but do not address the full scope of credential lifecycle.

PR.AA-05 partial match
prevents

Authorization policies assume credentials already exist and are not default; least-privilege helps limit impact but does not prevent defaults.

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.5.17 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.8.5 Secure authentication partial match
mitigates

Requires secure authentication mechanisms, which includes replacing or disabling default credentials.

A.8.18 Use of privileged utility programs none match
none

Utility programs often ship with defaults; control requires secure configuration before use.

A.8.2 Privileged access rights none match
none

Privileged accounts must not retain factory passwords, reducing risk of default-credential abuse.

References