CVE-2023-43491Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Credential disclosure via unauthenticated diagnostic archive

Published Apr 17, 2024 · Updated Nov 4, 2025

Information disclosure in Peplink Smart Reader 1.2.0 allows remote attackers to retrieve device secrets through an unauthenticated HTTPS request. The /web/cgi-bin/debug_dump.cgi shell script performs no authentication, archives configuration and log files, and protects them only with fixed-byte XOR encoding. Network access to port 443 is sufficient to obtain and decode the archive, including the administrator username and MD5 password hash.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability1.49%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in Peplink Smart Reader 1.2.0 allows remote attackers to retrieve device secrets through an unauthenticated HTTPS request. The /web/cgi-bin/debug_dump.cgi shell script performs no authentication, archives configuration and log files, and protects them only with fixed-byte XOR encoding. Network access to port 443 is sufficient to obtain and decode the archive, including the administrator username and MD5 password hash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-43491
Published
Apr 17, 2024
Updated
Nov 4, 2025
Vendor
Peplink
Product
Smart Reader
Classifications
CWE-284, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 17, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 4, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=v1.2.0
  2. Affected versionversion=v1.2.0 (in QEMU)

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Peplink · Smart Readerversion=v1.2.0; version=v1.2.0 (in QEMU)

Published CVSS scores

5.3Cisco TalosCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-284Improper Access Control
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

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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