Root access via startup-forced hard-coded password
Published Aug 5, 2022 · Updated Apr 15, 2025
Hard-coded credentials in TCL LINKHUB Mesh Wi-Fi AC1200 MS1G_00_01.00_14 allow remote attackers to authenticate as root with a known password. At every boot, netctrl calls libcommonprod.so's prod_change_root_passwd without a condition, and the function pipes a fixed string into passwd. No user action or prior privilege is required, but exploitation depends on adjacent reachability to a root-authentication service on the mesh appliance.
Summary
What happened
Hard-coded credentials in TCL LINKHUB Mesh Wi-Fi AC1200 MS1G_00_01.00_14 allow remote attackers to authenticate as root with a known password. At every boot, netctrl calls libcommonprod.so's prod_change_root_passwd without a condition, and the function pipes a fixed string into passwd. No user action or prior privilege is required, but exploitation depends on adjacent reachability to a root-authentication service on the mesh appliance.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-22144
- Published
- Aug 5, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 15, 2025
- Vendor
- TCL
- Product
- TCL LINKHUB Mesh Wi-Fi AC1200
- Classifications
- CWE-259, CWE-798, T1078.001
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 5, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 15, 2025Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=MS1G_00_01.00_14
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Cisco Talos fixed-root-password demonstrationproof of concept · demonstrated
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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