Root access via embedded admin password
Published Aug 31, 2025 · Updated Sep 2, 2025
Hard-coded credentials in Cudy LT500E firmware 2.3.0 through 2.3.12 allow local users to recover the root password from firmware. The embedded /etc/shadow entry assigns root the password admin under MD5-crypt, allowing recovery from the extracted SquashFS image. Exploitation requires access to the firmware and a reachable login service; the recovered credential grants administrative control of router configuration and commands.
Summary
What happened
Hard-coded credentials in Cudy LT500E firmware 2.3.0 through 2.3.12 allow local users to recover the root password from firmware. The embedded /etc/shadow entry assigns root the password admin under MD5-crypt, allowing recovery from the extracted SquashFS image. Exploitation requires access to the firmware and a reachable login service; the recovered credential grants administrative control of router configuration and commands.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-9725
- Published
- Aug 31, 2025
- Updated
- Sep 2, 2025
- Vendor
- Cudy
- Product
- LT500E
- Classifications
- CWE-255, CWE-259, T1078.001
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 31, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 2, 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=2.3.0
- Affected versionversion=2.3.1
- Affected versionversion=2.3.10
- Affected versionversion=2.3.11
- Affected versionversion=2.3.12
- Affected versionversion=2.3.2
- Affected versionversion=2.3.3
- Affected versionversion=2.3.4
- Affected versionversion=2.3.5
- Affected versionversion=2.3.6
- Affected versionversion=2.3.7
- Affected versionversion=2.3.8
- Affected versionversion=2.3.9
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
- LT500E hard-coded root password reproductionproof of concept · demonstrated
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
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