CVE-2017-13698
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 issue was discovered on MOXA EDS-G512E 5.1 build 16072215 devices. An attacker could extract public and private keys from the firmware image available on the MOXA website and could use them against a production switch that has the default keys embedded.
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 · moderate confidenceMOXA EDS-G512E devices contain default RSA or similar cryptographic keys embedded in the firmware. These keys are identical across all devices of this model. Since the firmware is publicly downloadable from MOXA's website, attackers can extract the private keys from the firmware image and use them to authenticate to any production switch that has these default keys embedded.
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= 5.1CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Identify the device modelCheck the physical device label or log into the management interface to confirm the model number is Moxa EDS-G512EAffected if Device model is EDS-G512E and firmware version is 5.1
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Verify the firmware versionLog into the web or console management interface and check the firmware version under System > Information or use the command line to retrieve the firmware versionAffected if Firmware version is exactly 5.1
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Check for default administrative accountsReview the list of local user accounts in the management interface under User Management or Authentication settings. Look for default or diagnostic accounts that may ship with default credentialsAffected if Default accounts exist with unchanged passwords or default key-based authentication is in use
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Inspect SSH or management interface configurationExamine the SSH server configuration or check the device's public host keys. Compare host keys against known default keys for this model or check if SSH accepts connections using keys that could be extracted from publicly available firmwareAffected if SSH or other management interfaces are using default or shared cryptographic keys identical to those in publicly downloadable firmware images
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Verify certificate or key uniquenessIf the device uses certificates for VPN, web UI, or other TLS functions, check whether the certificates or private keys are device-specific rather than identical across multiple unitsAffected if Certificates or private keys are identical across different physical devices or match keys extractable from the firmware image
The device is affected if it is a Moxa EDS-G512E running firmware version 5.1 and is using default cryptographic keys that are shared across all devices rather than unique, device-specific keys.
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 dataReplace all default cryptographic keys with unique, device-specific keys generated per-device. Implement secure key storage and consider firmware updates if the vendor releases a patch that addresses hardcoded keys.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-13698 — 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-2017-13698 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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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