Root credential disclosure via crackable firmware hash
Published Aug 21, 2025 · Updated Aug 21, 2025
Hard-coded credentials in Tenda AC10 16.03.10.13 allow local users to recover the root password from the firmware image. The root entry in /etc_ro/shadow stores a fixed password under MD5-crypt, and offline cracking of the extracted firmware reveals the reusable credential. Access to the firmware image and substantial cracking effort are required; the recovered credential enables root login through exposed management services.
Summary
What happened
Hard-coded credentials in Tenda AC10 16.03.10.13 allow local users to recover the root password from the firmware image. The root entry in /etc_ro/shadow stores a fixed password under MD5-crypt, and offline cracking of the extracted firmware reveals the reusable credential. Access to the firmware image and substantial cracking effort are required; the recovered credential enables root login through exposed management services.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-9309
- Published
- Aug 21, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 21, 2025
- Vendor
- Shenzhen Tenda Technology Co., Ltd.
- Product
- AC10
- Classifications
- CWE-259, CWE-798, T1552.001
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 21, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 21, 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=16.03.10.13
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
- AC10 firmware credential recovery stepsproof 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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