CVE-2008-1264
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe Linksys WRT54G router has "admin" as its default FTP password, which allows remote attackers to access sensitive files including nvram.cfg, a file that lists all HTML documents, and an ELF executable file.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Linksys WRT54G router ships with a default FTP account using 'admin' as both username and password. This allows any remote attacker with network access to the router's FTP service to authenticate without credentials and download sensitive files including nvram.cfg (containing configuration and HTML documents) and ELF executable binaries.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm device model and firmware versionAccess the router's web interface or check the device label to confirm it is a Linksys WRT54G. Note that all versions are affected.Affected if Device is a Linksys WRT54G router of any version
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Determine if FTP service is enabledLog into the router's administration panel and navigate to the Applications & Gaming or Administration section to check if the FTP server is turned on. Alternatively, attempt to connect to the router's IP on port 21 from the local network using an FTP client.Affected if FTP service is enabled and accessible on the router
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Test default FTP credentialsUsing an FTP client, attempt to connect to the router's IP address on port 21 using username 'admin' and password 'admin'.Affected if Authentication succeeds with default admin/admin credentials
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Verify sensitive file access via FTPAfter logging in with default credentials, attempt to list or download files such as nvram.cfg or ELF binaries from the FTP root directory.Affected if Sensitive configuration files or executable binaries are accessible without additional authentication
A user is affected if they have a Linksys WRT54G router with FTP service enabled and the default credentials (admin/admin) still active, allowing unauthenticated access to sensitive files.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataChange the default FTP credentials immediately or disable the FTP service if not required. If the firmware cannot be updated to remove defaults, consider replacing the device or implementing network segmentation to limit exposure.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-1264 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data