CVE-2025-3461
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 · uneditedThe Quantenna Wi-Fi chips ship with an unauthenticated telnet interface by default. This is an instance of CWE-306, "Missing Authentication for Critical Function," and is estimated as a CVSS 9.1 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N). This issue affects Quantenna Wi-Fi chipset through version 8.0.0.28 of the latest SDK, and appears to be unpatched at the time of this CVE record's first publishing, though the vendor has released a best practices guide for implementors of this chipset.
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 confidenceQuantenna Wi-Fi chipsets ship with telnet service enabled by default without any authentication requirement (CWE-306). This allows remote attackers to gain shell access to affected devices simply by connecting to the telnet port, providing full control over the device's operating system without credentials.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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.
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Identify the Wi-Fi chipset modelCheck the device documentation, FCC label, or system logs for the specific Onsemi/Quantenna chipset model (Qhs710, Qsr10ga, Qsr10gu, Qv840, Qv840c, Qv860, Qv940, or Qv942c)Affected if The device uses any of the listed Onsemi chipsets (Qhs710, Qsr10ga, Qsr10gu, Qv840, Qv840c, Qv860, Qv940, or Qv942c)
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Check the firmware versionAccess the device admin interface or check system information to determine the installed firmware versionAffected if Firmware version is 8.0.0.28 or earlier for the affected chipset models
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Verify if telnet service is enabledLog into the device and run: 'ps | grep telnet' or check /etc/services or the device startup configuration for telnet daemon entryAffected if A telnet daemon (telnetd) process is running or configured to start on the device
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Test telnet port accessibilityFrom a remote system, attempt to connect to the device on port 23: 'telnet <device_ip>' or 'nc -zv <device_ip> 23'Affected if Port 23 is open and accepts connections from the network
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Confirm unauthenticated telnet accessConnect to the telnet port and verify if a shell or command prompt is provided without any username or password promptAffected if The telnet connection provides immediate shell access without requiring any credentials
If the device uses an Onsemi Quantenna chipset (Qhs710, Qsr10ga, Qsr10gu, Qv840, Qv840c, Qv860, Qv940, or Qv942c) with firmware version 8.0.0.28 or earlier and has an exposed telnet service on port 23 that grants shell access without authentication, the environment is affected by CVE-2025-3461.
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 unauthenticated telnet service on affected devices, implement strong authentication for any remote access, and follow the vendor's best practices guide for securing the chipset.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,680.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-3461 — 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-2025-3461 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
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- 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