dbcve.org
Dgs 1500 FirmwareOperating system · Dlink

CVE-2017-15909

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-10-26
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
D-Link DGS-1500 Ax devices before 2.51B021 have a hardcoded password, which allows remote attackers to obtain shell access.

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 confidence

D-Link DGS-1500 Ax switches contain a hardcoded password embedded in the firmware that serves as a backdoor. Remote attackers can use this credentials to authenticate and obtain unrestricted shell access to the device, bypassing normal authentication controls.

MitigationUpdate D-Link DGS-1500 Ax devices to firmware version 2.51B021 or later to remove the hardcoded password backdoor. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to management interfaces and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.

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
Dgs 1500 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 2.10.002= 2.50.008= 2.51.005

CVSS 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:3.0/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify D-Link DGS-1500 series switches on your network
    Inventory network devices and identify any switches with model numbers DGS-1500-20x, DGS-1500-28x, DGS-1500-50x, or similar DGS-1500 Ax variants. Check device management interfaces or use network scanning to confirm the exact model.
    Affected if The device is a D-Link DGS-1500 Ax switch
  2. Check the installed firmware version
    Access the switch management interface via web GUI or CLI and navigate to the firmware or system information section. Run command 'show firmware information' or check System > Firmware in the web interface.
    Affected if The firmware version is exactly 2.10.002, 2.50.008, or 2.51.005
  3. Verify management interface exposure
    Check network firewall rules and access control lists to determine if the device management interface (HTTP/HTTPS/SSH/Telnet) is accessible from untrusted networks such as the internet or guest VLANs.
    Affected if Management interface is reachable from untrusted networks and firmware version matches affected versions
  4. Audit for unauthorized access or unknown accounts
    Review device logs for successful authentication events, especially from unusual source IP addresses. Check the local account list for any unrecognized admin accounts that may indicate exploitation.
    Affected if Unfamiliar accounts appear or suspicious remote access is logged on an affected device

You are affected if you have a D-Link DGS-1500 Ax switch running firmware version 2.10.002, 2.50.008, or 2.51.005 with its management interface exposed to the network.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update D-Link DGS-1500 Ax devices to firmware version 2.51B021 or later to remove the hardcoded password backdoor. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to management interfaces and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firmware version 2.51B021 or later (latest available for DGS-1500 Ax series)

  1. Identify the exact DGS-1500 Ax model number on the device label or web interface
  2. Navigate to the D-Link support page (support.dlink.com) or use ftp2.dlink.com to obtain firmware files
  3. Download firmware version 2.51B021 or later (check for the latest available version for your specific model)
  4. Access the device web management interface or console
  5. Upload and apply the new firmware file following D-Link's upgrade procedure
  6. After reboot, verify the new firmware version is installed
  7. Change any default passwords and configure new, strong unique passwords
  8. Verify remote management is disabled if not needed, or restrict access to trusted IP addresses
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or feature changes between current and new firmware version; backup configuration before upgrade

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Dgs 1500 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-15909 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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