Root shell access via hardcoded Telnet credentials
Published May 4, 2026 · Updated May 4, 2026
Hardcoded credentials in D-Link DIR-600L Firmware A1 allow remote attackers to obtain a root shell through the boot-time Telnet service. /bin/telnetd.sh unconditionally starts telnetd with the fixed Alphanetworks username and a plaintext password read from /etc/alpha_config/image_sign. Access from the same LAN or Wi-Fi network is required, and successful authentication grants full administrative control of the router.
Summary
What happened
Hardcoded credentials in D-Link DIR-600L Firmware A1 allow remote attackers to obtain a root shell through the boot-time Telnet service. /bin/telnetd.sh unconditionally starts telnetd with the fixed Alphanetworks username and a plaintext password read from /etc/alpha_config/image_sign. Access from the same LAN or Wi-Fi network is required, and successful authentication grants full administrative control of the router.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-42375
- Published
- May 4, 2026
- Updated
- May 4, 2026
- Vendor
- D-Link
- Product
- DIR-600L Firmware
- Classifications
- CWE-798, T1078.001
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 4, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 4, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=A1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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
- Securin Telnet backdoor proof of conceptfunctional · validated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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