Unauthenticated management shell exposure via Telnet handler
Published Aug 31, 2026 · Updated Aug 31, 2026
Missing authentication in the Tenda AC18 15.03.05.19 Telnet handler allows remote attackers to expose a management shell via HTTP. The /goform/telnet handler in /bin/httpd accepts a request without a session when sys.userpass is empty and executes shell commands that start telnetd on the LAN address. Network access to the management interface is sufficient in the factory-default empty-password state, resulting in unauthenticated management-shell exposure.
Summary
What happened
Missing authentication in the Tenda AC18 15.03.05.19 Telnet handler allows remote attackers to expose a management shell via HTTP. The /goform/telnet handler in /bin/httpd accepts a request without a session when sys.userpass is empty and executes shell commands that start telnetd on the LAN address. Network access to the management interface is sufficient in the factory-default empty-password state, resulting in unauthenticated management-shell exposure.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-82695
- Published
- Aug 31, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 31, 2026
- Vendor
- Shenzhen Tenda Technology Co., Ltd.
- Product
- AC18
- Classifications
- CWE-287, CWE-306, T1210
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 31, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 31, 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=15.03.05.19
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
- AC18 factory-default unauthenticated Telnet proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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