CVE-2023-25646
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 · uneditedThere is an unauthorized access vulnerability in ZTE H388X. If H388X is caused by brute-force serial port cracking,attackers with common user permissions can use this vulnerability to obtain elevated permissions on the affected device by performing specific operations.
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 · moderate confidenceZTE H388X devices contain an unauthorized access vulnerability where an attacker with common user permissions can perform brute-force attacks against the serial port interface to escalate privileges to administrative levels on the affected 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= 10.1_agzhm_1.3.1CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/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 device modelAccess the device web interface or console and check the model number under System Info or Device Status. Look for ZTE ZXHN H388X series.Affected if Device model is ZTE ZXHN H388X
-
Check installed firmware versionNavigate to the device's web interface (typically 192.168.1.1) and find the firmware version under Administration, System Info, or Device Status. Common paths: Maintenance > Device Info or System > Firmware Version.Affected if Firmware version is exactly 10.1_agzhm_1.3.1
-
Verify serial port interface statusAccess the device's command line interface (via telnet, SSH, or physical serial connection) and check configuration files or running status for serial port daemon/service. Look for entries like 'serial', 'console', or 'uart' in running config or /etc/ directory.Affected if Serial port interface is enabled and accessible to non-admin users
-
Check for common user account existenceView the device's user account list via web interface (typically under User Management, User Account, or Administration > User) or via command line using 'show users' or by inspecting /etc/passwd or similar configuration files.Affected if Common user accounts with limited privileges exist on the device
Device is affected if it is a ZTE ZXHN H388X running firmware version 10.1_agzhm_1.3.1 with serial port interface accessible to standard user accounts.
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 dataApply vendor-supplied firmware updates when available; otherwise, restrict physical access to serial ports, implement network segmentation, and monitor for unauthorized serial access attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-25646 — 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-2023-25646 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