CVE-2020-10916

Administrator takeover via unvalidated first-time setup

Published May 7, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper authentication in TP-Link TL-WA855RE firmware 191213 allows remote authenticated users to gain administrator control. The first-time setup handler for login.json accepts inadequately validated requests that reset the Admin password despite the authentication gate. Remote authenticated users must reach the extender over an adjacent network; bypassing the gate permits Admin takeover and device-context code execution.

CVSS severity8.0
High
EPSS probability1.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper authentication in TP-Link TL-WA855RE firmware 191213 allows remote authenticated users to gain administrator control. The first-time setup handler for login.json accepts inadequately validated requests that reset the Admin password despite the authentication gate. Remote authenticated users must reach the extender over an adjacent network; bypassing the gate permits Admin takeover and device-context code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-10916
Published
May 7, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
TP-Link
Product
TL-WA855RE
Classifications
CWE-287, T1098
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 7, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Firmware Ver: 855rev4-up-ver1-0-1-P1[20191213-rel60361]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

TP-Link · TL-WA855REversion=Firmware Ver: 855rev4-up-ver1-0-1-P1[20191213-rel60361]

Published CVSS scores

5.2NIST NVDAV:A/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
8.0NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.0Zero Day InitiativeCVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-287Improper Authentication
T1098Account Manipulation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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