CVE-2018-16546
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 · uneditedAmcrest networked devices use the same hardcoded SSL private key across different customers' installations, which allows remote attackers to defeat cryptographic protection mechanisms by leveraging knowledge of this key from another installation, as demonstrated by Amcrest_IPC-HX1X3X-LEXUS_Eng_N_AMCREST_V2.420.AC01.3.R.20180206.
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 confidenceAmcrest networked devices ship with a hardcoded SSL private key embedded in the firmware that is identical across all installations. Since the same private key is used for different customers, an attacker who obtains this key from one device can decrypt SSL/TLS traffic from any other Amcrest device using that key, enabling man-in-the-middle attacks and defeating cryptographic protections.
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= v2.420.ac01.3.r.20180206CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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 Amcrest networked devices on your networkScan your network for devices with Amcrest vendor identifiers, or review your asset inventory for Amcrest IP cameras, NVRs, or other networked devices. Note the model numbers.Affected if You have any Amcrest networked devices in your environment
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Check the firmware version on each Amcrest deviceAccess the device web interface or use the manufacturer's API/SDK to retrieve the firmware version. For the IPC Hx1x3x series, navigate to Settings > System > About or use the ONVIF/GetDeviceInformation API call.Affected if The firmware version matches v2.420.ac01.3.r.20180206 or falls within the affected product line (IPC Hx1x3x Lexus series)
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Determine if SSL/TLS features are enabledCheck the device settings for HTTPS, SSL/TLS, or encrypted streaming options. Verify whether the device is configured to use secure connections for remote access, ONVIF over TLS, or cloud connectivity features.Affected if SSL/TLS encryption is enabled and used for any network communication (HTTPS web interface, secure RTSP, cloud app connections)
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Inspect firmware for hardcoded SSL key artifactsIf you have access to the firmware binary (download from Amcrest support site or extract from device), search the binary for the private key file or examine SSL configuration files. Look for embedded certificate/key pairs in /etc or /mnt directories within the firmware image.Affected if An identical SSL private key is found embedded in the firmware that could be reused across multiple devices
You are affected if you have an Amcrest IPC Hx1x3x device running firmware v2.420.ac01.3.r.20180206 (or related versions) with SSL/TLS features enabled, as the hardcoded private key allows decryption of your device traffic.
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 the hardcoded SSL certificate/key pair with uniquely generated keys per device, or migrate to certificates from a trusted certificate authority, and deploy updated firmware to all affected devices.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-16546 — 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-2018-16546 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
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