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Dir 845l FirmwareOperating system · Dlink

CVE-2022-38557

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.0.3 or later.
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 DIR845L v1.00-v1.03 contains a Static Default Credential vulnerability in /etc/init0.d/S80telnetd.sh.

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

The D-Link DIR845L router firmware versions 1.00 through 1.03 contains hardcoded static default credentials embedded in the telnet daemon startup script located at /etc/init0.d/S80telnetd.sh. An unauthenticated remote attacker can use these credentials to gain full administrative access to the device via telnet, achieving code execution at the privilege level of the telnet service.

MitigationImmediately change default credentials if the device allows modification, disable the telnet service if not required, and apply any vendor firmware updates. If the device cannot be updated or secured, replace it and isolate it from untrusted networks.

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
Dir 845l FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 1.0.0, <= 1.0.3

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:3.1/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 checks

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

  1. Identify device model and firmware version
    Access the router's web administration interface and check the firmware version under Status or System Info, or use commands like 'cat /proc/version' or 'nvram get firmware_version' via telnet/SSH if already authenticated
    Affected if The device is a D-Link DIR845L running firmware version 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, or 1.0.3
  2. Verify if telnet service is enabled
    Check router settings for telnet enable/disable status in the web interface under Advanced or Security settings, or attempt to connect to the device on telnet port 23
    Affected if Telnet service is enabled and accessible on the device
  3. Inspect the telnet startup script for hardcoded credentials
    If telnet access is available, examine the file /etc/init0.d/S80telnetd.sh for embedded username and password strings, or extract firmware and analyze this file
    Affected if The file /etc/init0.d/S80telnetd.sh contains hardcoded username and password values
  4. Test default credentials via telnet
    Attempt to connect via telnet to the device IP on port 23 using common hardcoded credential pairs found in the startup script
    Affected if Authentication succeeds with hardcoded credentials granting full administrative access
  5. Check for unauthorized telnet sessions
    Review router logs or active connections for unexpected telnet sessions originating from external IPs, or check for new admin accounts created via telnet access
    Affected if Unfamiliar admin accounts exist or telnet connections from untrusted sources are logged

The device is affected if it is a D-Link DIR845L running firmware version 1.0.0 through 1.0.3 with telnet service enabled and the hardcoded credentials in /etc/init0.d/S80telnetd.sh are active.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.0.3
Interim mitigation

Immediately change default credentials if the device allows modification, disable the telnet service if not required, and apply any vendor firmware updates. If the device cannot be updated or secured, replace it and isolate it from untrusted networks.

Recommended fix High confidence
  1. This vulnerability is present in D-Link DIR-845L firmware versions 1.0.0 through 1.0.3, which is an End-of-Life (EOL) product no longer supported by D-Link.
  2. D-Link has not released a patched firmware version for this vulnerability.
  3. The recommended remediation is to replace the affected device with a currently supported model from D-Link or another vendor.
  4. If continued use is mandatory, disable the telnet service via the router's web interface if available, and ensure the device is not exposed to untrusted networks.
  5. Monitor D-Link's support pages periodically for any future firmware updates, though none are currently planned for this EOL device.
Caveat This is an EOL device with no available firmware updates; replacement is the only secure remediation path

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

Fix this in Dir 845l Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2022-38557 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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