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Ax7501 B0 FirmwareOperating system · Zyxel

CVE-2022-45439

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.17 or later.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A pair of spare WiFi credentials is stored in the configuration file of the Zyxel AX7501-B0 firmware prior to V5.17(ABPC.3)C0 in cleartext. An unauthenticated attacker could use the credentials to access the WLAN service if the configuration file has been retrieved from the device by leveraging another known vulnerability.

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 Zyxel AX7501-B0 firmware prior to V5.17(ABPC.3)C0 stores a secondary pair of WiFi credentials in cleartext within the device configuration file. An unauthenticated attacker who has already obtained the configuration file through another vulnerability can read these plaintext WiFi credentials and use them to authenticate to the WLAN service.

MitigationUpgrade the Zyxel AX7501-B0 firmware to version V5.17(ABPC.3)C0 or later to eliminate the cleartext credential storage. Additionally, ensure the prerequisite vulnerability allowing configuration file retrieval is also patched to prevent chained exploitation.

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
Ax7501 B0 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 5.17\(abpc.3\)c0

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/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 checks

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

  1. Check firmware version
    Access the device administration interface or use the command line interface to retrieve the current firmware version. Look for a version string like V5.XX or similar.
    Affected if The installed firmware version is earlier than V5.17(ABPC.3)C0
  2. Locate the device configuration file
    Identify where the device stores its configuration backup or export file. This is typically accessible through the web interface under settings or through a backup feature.
    Affected if You can access and retrieve the configuration file from the device
  3. Inspect configuration for secondary WiFi credentials
    Open the configuration file in a text editor or parser. Search for WiFi-related sections containing network names (SSIDs) and passwords. Look for any secondary or additional wireless credential entries beyond the primary WiFi settings.
    Affected if The configuration file contains more than one set of WiFi credentials (multiple SSID/password pairs) stored in plain, readable text without encryption
  4. Verify encryption status of credentials
    Examine the credential storage format in the configuration file. Check whether the WiFi passwords appear as plain alphanumeric strings or as encrypted/hashed values.
    Affected if Any WiFi passwords are stored as plain, readable text rather than being encrypted or hashed

The device is affected if the firmware version is earlier than V5.17(ABPC.3)C0 AND the configuration file contains cleartext secondary WiFi credentials that can be read by anyone who obtains the configuration file.

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 5.17 or later
Fixed in 5.17
Interim mitigation

Upgrade the Zyxel AX7501-B0 firmware to version V5.17(ABPC.3)C0 or later to eliminate the cleartext credential storage. Additionally, ensure the prerequisite vulnerability allowing configuration file retrieval is also patched to prevent chained exploitation.

Recommended fix High confidence

V5.17(ABPC.3)C0

  1. 1. Identify the current firmware version of the Zyxel AX7501-B0 device through the web management interface or CLI
  2. 2. Download the firmware version V5.17(ABPC.3)C0 or later from the official Zyxel support website (www.zyxel.com)
  3. 3. Access the device's web management interface and navigate to the firmware upgrade section
  4. 4. Upload the downloaded firmware file and initiate the upgrade process
  5. 5. Wait for the device to reboot and apply the new firmware
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the firmware version in the device management interface
  7. 7. Confirm that the configuration file no longer contains cleartext WiFi credentials

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

Fix this in Ax7501 B0 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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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-2022-45439 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
  • 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