CVE-2019-7311
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 Linksys WRT1900ACS 1.0.3.187766 devices. A lack of encryption in how the user login cookie (admin-auth) is stored on a victim's computer results in the admin password being discoverable by a local attacker, and usable to gain administrative access to the victim's router. The admin password is stored in base64 cleartext in an "admin-auth" cookie. An attacker sniffing the network at the time of login could acquire the router's admin password. Alternatively, gaining physical access to the victim's computer soon after an administrative login could result in compromise.
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 WRT1900ACS router (v1.0.3.187766) stores the admin password in base64-encoded cleartext within an 'admin-auth' cookie. This cookie lacks encryption both in transit and at rest, allowing network sniffers to capture credentials during login or local attackers with physical access to the victim's browser to decode the base64 and obtain the admin password.
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= 1.0.3.187766CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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.
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Identify the router modelCheck the device label or web interface to confirm the model is Linksys WRT1900ACSAffected if Device is not a Linksys WRT1900ACS router
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Check the firmware versionAccess the router web interface (typically at 192.168.1.1), navigate to Administration > Firmware Upgrade or Status page, and verify the firmware version is exactly 1.0.3.187766Affected if Firmware version is not 1.0.3.187766
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Capture the admin-auth cookie during loginUse browser developer tools (F12) or a network sniffer (like Wireshark) to intercept HTTP traffic when logging into the router admin interface. Locate the admin-auth cookie in the Set-Cookie header or request headersAffected if No admin-auth cookie is present during login
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Verify cookie encodingDecode the admin-auth cookie value using base64 decoder. If it decodes to readable text containing the admin password, the vulnerability is presentAffected if The admin-auth cookie value decodes from base64 to plaintext credentials
You are affected only if you have a Linksys WRT1900ACS router running firmware version 1.0.3.187766 and observe a base64-encoded admin password in the admin-auth cookie during login.
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 dataUsers should avoid logging into the router over untrusted networks, clear browser cookies after admin sessions, and apply any vendor firmware updates. The vendor should implement HTTPS enforcement and encrypt session cookies rather than using base64 encoding.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 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-2019-7311 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
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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