CVE-2023-40463

Root password hash exposure through debug storage

Published Dec 4, 2023 · Updated May 29, 2025

Credential exposure in Sierra Wireless ALEOS 4.16 and earlier allows attackers with root-equivalent access to read a root password hash. When an authenticated administrator enables debugging, the firmware stores the SHA512 hash of the version-common root password in a directory readable with root-equivalent access. Exposure requires both debug mode and root-equivalent access and reveals the hash rather than the plaintext password.

CVSS severity8.1
High
EPSS probability0.63%
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

Credential exposure in Sierra Wireless ALEOS 4.16 and earlier allows attackers with root-equivalent access to read a root password hash. When an authenticated administrator enables debugging, the firmware stores the SHA512 hash of the version-common root password in a directory readable with root-equivalent access. Exposure requires both debug mode and root-equivalent access and reveals the hash rather than the plaintext password.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-40463
Published
Dec 4, 2023
Updated
May 29, 2025
Vendor
Sierra Wireless
Product
ALEOS
Classifications
CWE-798, CAPEC-191, T1552.001
Attack vector
Unavailable
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 4, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 29, 2025Record 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=0 <=4.9.8
  2. Affected versionversion=4.10 <=4.16

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorUnavailable in this record.
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Sierra Wireless · ALEOSversion=0 <=4.9.8; version=4.10 <=4.16

Published CVSS scores

7.2NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.1Sierra WirelessCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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)
VectorUnavailable
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-798Use of Hard-coded Credentials
CAPEC-191Read Sensitive Strings Within an Executable
T1552.001Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files

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