CVE-2016-8717
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 · uneditedAn exploitable Use of Hard-coded Credentials vulnerability exists in the Moxa AWK-3131A Wireless Access Point running firmware 1.1. The device operating system contains an undocumented, privileged (root) account with hard-coded credentials, giving attackers full control of affected devices.
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 Moxa AWK-3131A Wireless Access Point firmware 1.1 contains an undocumented root account with hard-coded credentials embedded in the operating system. Attackers with knowledge of these credentials can authenticate as root and gain full administrative control over the device.
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 data= 1.1CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
-
Identify device modelAccess the device web interface or check the physical label to confirm the model is Moxa AWK-3131AAffected if Device model is Moxa AWK-3131A
-
Check firmware versionLog into the device web interface and navigate to System Settings > Firmware or use the command line to retrieve the firmware versionAffected if Firmware version is exactly 1.1
-
Verify remote management is enabledCheck the device network settings to see if the web-based management interface or SSH is enabled and accessible from external networksAffected if Remote administrative access is enabled and exposed to untrusted networks
-
Audit user accountsAccess the device administration panel and review all configured user accounts for any unknown or undocumented accounts, particularly one with root or administrator privilegesAffected if An undocumented root or administrator account exists besides those created by the administrator
The device is affected if it is a Moxa AWK-3131A running firmware version 1.1 with the undocumented root account present, regardless of remote access configuration since local access would also expose the hardcoded credentials.
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 dataImmediately change all default/admin credentials on affected devices, update to patched firmware if available, disable remote administrative interfaces or restrict access via firewall, and monitor for unauthorized access.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,064.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8717 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
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-2016-8717 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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