CVE-2020-28998
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 Geeni GNC-CW013 doorbell 1.8.1 devices. A vulnerability exists in the Telnet service that allows a remote attacker to take full control of the device with a high-privileged account. The vulnerability exists because a system account has a default and static password.
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 Geeni GNC-CW013 doorbell v1.8.1 contains a hardcoded credential vulnerability in its Telnet service. An unauthenticated remote attacker can connect to the Telnet port and login with a system account that has a static default password, granting full root-level control of 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= 1.8.1CVSS 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 the device modelLocate the physical device label or check the device admin interface/web UI for the model number. Confirm it is a Geeni GNC-CW013 doorbell.Affected if The device model is Geeni GNC-CW013 doorbell.
-
Check the installed firmware versionAccess the device admin interface, check the mobile app details, or query the device via its API/management interface for the firmware version number.Affected if The firmware version is 1.8.1.
-
Detect if Telnet service is accessiblePerform a port scan of the device IP address targeting port 23 (Telnet). Use a tool such as nmap -p 23 <device_ip> or netcat nc -zv <device_ip> 23.Affected if Port 23/Telnet is open and accepting connections on the device.
-
Verify Telnet authentication with default credentialsConnect to the device via Telnet (telnet <device_ip>) and attempt login using the system account with its static default password. Observe whether authentication succeeds without any custom password configuration.Affected if Login succeeds using the hardcoded default credential, granting root access.
A user is affected if they own a Geeni GNC-CW013 doorbell running firmware version 1.8.1 with Telnet port 23 exposed and accessible using the hardcoded default 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 dataDisable the Telnet service if not required, or contact the vendor for a firmware update that removes the default credentials. If Telnet is necessary, change the default password immediately if the firmware supports it.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-28998 — 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-2020-28998 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