CVE-2020-5721

Router credential disclosure via plaintext configuration storage

Published Apr 15, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Cleartext credential storage in MikroTik WinBox 3.22 and earlier allows local users to read saved router credentials from a configuration file. settings.cfg.viw writes the username and password after the login and pwd keywords without encryption when Keep Password is enabled and no Master Password is set. Both settings are defaults, and access to the per-user file exposes credentials that grant access to the associated router.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.38%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Cleartext credential storage in MikroTik WinBox 3.22 and earlier allows local users to read saved router credentials from a configuration file. settings.cfg.viw writes the username and password after the login and pwd keywords without encryption when Keep Password is enabled and no Master Password is set. Both settings are defaults, and access to the per-user file exposes credentials that grant access to the associated router.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-5721
Published
Apr 15, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
MikroTik
Product
WinBox
Classifications
CWE-260, T1555
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 15, 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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=3.22 and below

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

MikroTik · WinBoxversion=3.22 and below

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
2.1TenableAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

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)
Vectorlocal
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-260Password in Configuration File
T1555Credentials from Password Stores

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo