Hard-coded CredentialsWeakness · CWE-798

CVE-2025-57601

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
AiKaan Cloud Controller uses a single hardcoded SSH private key and the username `proxyuser` for remote terminal access to all managed IoT/edge devices. When an administrator initiates "Open Remote Terminal" from the AiKaan dashboard, the controller sends this same static private key to the target device. The device then uses it to establish a reverse SSH tunnel to a remote access server, enabling browser-based SSH access for the administrator. Because the same `proxyuser` account and SSH key are reused across all customer environments: - An attacker who obtains the key (e.g., by intercepting it in transit, extracting it from the remote access server, or from a compromised admin account) can impersonate any managed device. - They can establish unauthorized reverse SSH tunnels and interact with devices without the owner's consent. This is a design flaw in the authentication model: compromise of a single key compromises the trust boundary between the controller and devices.

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

AiKaan Cloud Controller uses a single hardcoded SSH private key with static username 'proxyuser' for all managed IoT/edge devices. When an admin opens a remote terminal, the controller sends this static private key to the target device, which then establishes a reverse SSH tunnel to a remote access server. Because the same credentials are reused across all customer environments, compromise of this key allows an attacker to impersonate any device and establish unauthorized tunnels.

MitigationReplace the static key with unique per-device SSH key pairs, implement proper device authentication, and implement key rotation. The architecture requires fundamental redesign to use dynamic, device-specific credentials rather than shared static secrets.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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 AiKaan Cloud Controller installation
    Locate the AiKaan Cloud Controller software on your system. Check common installation directories or use system package managers to list installed software related to 'aikan' or 'cloud controller'. Note the installation path and any associated configuration directories.
    Affected if AiKaan Cloud Controller is installed and the version has not been patched by the vendor.
  2. Determine installed version
    Run the command to display the AiKaan Cloud Controller version (for example: 'aikan --version' or check the software's About/Version page in its admin interface). Compare this version number against the vendor's security advisory for CVE-2025-57601.
    Affected if The installed version matches the version range that the vendor has identified as vulnerable to this issue.
  3. Locate SSH private key files
    Search the AiKaan installation directory and its configuration subdirectories for SSH private key files (files named 'id_rsa', 'id_ed25519', 'private_key', or similar, particularly those not generated per-device). Use file system inspection commands like 'find' or examine the directory structure manually.
    Affected if A static/hardcoded SSH private key file exists in the installation that is shared across multiple devices or customers.
  4. Search for static username configuration
    Search configuration files within the AiKaan installation for the string 'proxyuser' (for example: 'grep -r proxyuser /path/to/aikan/config/'). Examine any SSH-related or remote access configuration files.
    Affected if Configuration files contain the static username 'proxyuser' used for remote terminal access to managed devices.
  5. Verify remote terminal feature status
    Check the AiKaan admin interface or configuration files to determine whether the remote terminal/SSH tunnel feature is enabled. Look for settings related to 'remote access', 'terminal', 'SSH tunnel', or 'reverse proxy' functionality.
    Affected if The remote terminal feature is enabled and configured to use the hardcoded credentials for establishing reverse SSH tunnels to managed devices.

Your environment is affected if AiKaan Cloud Controller is installed with a vulnerable version AND the remote terminal feature is enabled AND you can locate the static SSH private key and 'proxyuser' username in the configuration.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Replace the static key with unique per-device SSH key pairs, implement proper device authentication, and implement key rotation. The architecture requires fundamental redesign to use dynamic, device-specific credentials rather than shared static secrets.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation30.0 h
  • Implementation80.0 h
  • Testing40.0 h
  • Review / QA20.0 h
170.0 hours of engineering $30,000
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-57601 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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