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Dg860a FirmwareOperating system · Arris

CVE-2023-40038

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
93/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Arris DG860A and DG1670A devices have predictable default WPA2 PSKs that could lead to unauthorized remote access. (They use the first 6 characters of the SSID and the last 6 characters of the BSSID, decrementing the last digit.)

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 confidence

Arris DG860A and DG1670A routers use a deterministic algorithm to generate default WPA2 pre-shared keys. The PSK is constructed by combining the first 6 characters of the SSID with the last 6 characters of the BSSID, then decrementing the final digit. This predictable derivation allows attackers to calculate the default PSK and gain unauthorized network access.

MitigationChange the default WPA2 PSK immediately to a strong, randomly generated password. Disable WPS and consider replacing affected devices if firmware updates are unavailable.

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
Dg860a FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Dg1670a FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= ts0901203b6_020420_16xx.gw_pc20_tw

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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 the router model
    Log into the router web interface or check the device label to confirm the model is Arris DG860A or DGris DG1670A
    Affected if The device is an Arris DG860A or DG1670A router
  2. Check the firmware version
    Access the router admin panel (typically at 192.168.0.1) and navigate to the status or firmware information page to view the installed firmware version
    Affected if Firmware is DG860A any version, or DG1670A version ts0901203b6_020420_16xx.gw_pc20_tw
  3. Verify the default SSID pattern
    Inspect the wireless network name (SSID) broadcast by the router. Default SSIDs on affected devices typically begin with 'ARG' followed by additional characters
    Affected if The SSID follows the default pattern used by affected firmware versions
  4. Check if WPA2 PSK follows the deterministic pattern
    If the router still uses its factory default WPA2 password, examine the PSK. The default key is calculated by taking the first 6 characters of the SSID, appending the last 6 characters of the BSSID (MAC address), then decrementing the final digit by 1
    Affected if The default WPA2 PSK can be derived using the formula: first 6 SSID chars + last 6 BSSID chars minus 1 from the final digit

A user is affected if they own an Arris DG860A or DG1670A router running the specified firmware versions and are still using the factory default WPA2 password derived from the SSID and BSSID according to the described algorithm.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Change the default WPA2 PSK immediately to a strong, randomly generated password. Disable WPS and consider replacing affected devices if firmware updates are unavailable.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Access the router's web-based administration interface via its default IP address (typically 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1)
  2. Log in with the default administrator credentials (consult router documentation if unknown)
  3. Navigate to the Wireless or Wi-Fi settings section
  4. Locate the WPA2 PSK (Pre-Shared Key) or wireless password setting
  5. Generate a strong, random PSK of at least 12 characters using a password generator
  6. Replace the predictable default PSK with the new random PSK
  7. Apply/save the settings and reconnect all wireless devices using the new password
  8. Disable WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) in the wireless settings if available to reduce attack surface

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

Fix this in Dg860a Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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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-2023-40038 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