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Reflected XSS Vulnerability in Splunk Enterprise & Cloud Platform 

Summary 

Splunk has disclosed a medium-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting multiple versions of its Enterprise and Cloud Platform products that could allow low-privileged attackers to execute malicious JavaScript code in users’ browsers.

OEM Cisco 
Severity MEDIUM 
CVSS Score 4.3 
CVEs CVE-2025-20297 
CWEs CWE-79 
Exploited in Wild No 
Advisory Version 1.0 

Overview 

A security vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-20297 has been found in older versions of Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud Platform.

This issue allows low privileged users to execute unauthorized JavaScript code in a victim’s browser using a specific Splunk feature that generates Pdf from dashboards.

Although the vulnerability is rated as Medium (CVSS 4.3) but it could be a significant risk in environments where Splunk Web is widely accessed by users. 

The vulnerability specifically targets instances with Splunk Web enabled, which represents the majority of production deployments given the component’s central role in dashboard management and user interface functionality.

Vulnerability Name CVE ID Product Affected Severity Fixed Version 
​Reflected Cross Site Scripting  CVE-2025-20297 Splunk Enterprise & Cloud  Medium  Check the remediation section. 

Technical Summary 

The vulnerability lies in the pdfgen/render REST endpoint used to create dashboard PDFs. In vulnerable versions, a low \privileged user (not an admin or power user) can inject a malicious script via this endpoint.

If a legitimate user interacts with the resulting PDF or link, their browser may execute the injected script without their consent, this is working as reflected XSS. 

CVE ID System Affected Vulnerability Details Impact 
CVE-2025-20297  Splunk Enterprise & Cloud multiple versions Low-privileged users can exploit the pdfgen/render endpoint to inject unauthorized JavaScript code into a victim’s browser. Code Execution/Reflected xss. 

Remediation

Splunk has released updates, that addressed the vulnerability:  

  • Splunk Enterprise: Upgrade to version 9.4.2, 9.3.4, 9.2.6, 9.1.9 or latest. 
  • Splunk Cloud Platform: Upgrade to version 9.3.2411.102, 9.3.2408.111, 9.2.2406.118 or latest. 

If you cannot upgrade immediately, you can disable Splunk Web to prevent exploitation. For this you can review the web.conf configuration file and follow the Splunk guidance on disabling unnecessary components. 

Disabling Splunk Web may impact users who rely on the web interface so consider access controls or network-based restrictions as temporary mitigations. 

Conclusion: 
While CVE-2025-20297 is rated as a medium severity vulnerability, it should not be ignored in the environments where many users interact with Splunk dashboards. Attackers with limited permissions could potentially target higher privileged users by modifying malicious links or payloads. 

Organizations should prioritize upgrading Splunk to the fixed versions or implementing the workarounds immediately.

Even though this vulnerability requires some user interaction, the risks include unauthorized access to sensitive data through potential session hijacking. 

While Splunk has not provided specific detection methods for this vulnerability, organizations should monitor access patterns to the pdfgen/render endpoint and review user privilege assignments to minimize potential exposure

This vulnerability poses a significant risk to organizations relying on Splunk’s data analytics platform for security monitoring and business intelligence operations.

References

High Risk DoS Vulnerability in ModSecurity WAF 

Summary 

ModSecurity is an open source, cross platform web application firewall (WAF) engine for Apache, IIS and Nginx.

OEM ModSecurity 
Severity HIGH 
CVSS Score 7.5 
CVEs CVE-2025-48866 
CWEs CWE-1050 
Exploited in Wild No 
Advisory Version 1.0 

Overview 

A Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability has been identified in ModSecurity, an open-source web application firewall (WAF) used with Apache, Nginx and IIS.

The issue affects versions prior to 2.9.10 and related to the “sanitiseArg” action, which can be exploited by adding an excessive number of arguments, ultimately causing the system to fail or crash. The vulnerability has been fixed in version 2.9.10. 

There is no user interaction required to trigger, exploiting it can lead to significant resource consumption, resulting in service disruption. 

Vulnerability Name CVE ID Product Affected Severity Fixed Version 
​Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability  CVE-2025-48866 Modsecurity WAF  High  v2.9.10 

Technical Summary 

The vulnerability arises from the behavior of the “sanitiseArg” (also referred to as “sanitizeArg”) action in ModSecurity. This action sanitizes a specific argument passed to a rule (e.g.- password), masking it in the logs by replacing its value with asterisks (*). 

CVE ID System Affected Vulnerability Details Impact 
  CVE-2025-48866  ModSecurity (mod_security2.x) prior to v2.9.10 When a rule uses the sanitiseArg action, it processes each argument that matches the specified name (e.g – password).  If a large number of matching arguments (e.g.- 500 or more) are passed, ModSecurity repeatedly adds them to memory, which can lead to excessive memory consumption and potentially crash the system. System crashes due to resource exhaustion (DoS)   

Remediation

Apply Patches Promptly: Upgrade to ModSecurity version 2.9.10 or the latest one. 

Avoid using the “sanitizeArg” or “sanitizeArg” actions in your rules. If these actions are not used, the engine will not be affected by the vulnerability.  

Conclusion: 
This vulnerability is similar to this CVE-2025-47947 issue, presents a significant risk, especially for organizations relying on ModSecurity 2.x versions for web application protection. 

Although the vulnerability is rated as high, it requires a specific set of conditions to be exploited. But to ensure the continued stability and security of web applications, the fix needs to be applied as soon as possible. 

References

Critical Vulnerabilities Patched in IBM QRadar Suite & Cloud Pak for Security 

Summary : Security Advisory

Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in IBM QRadar Suite Software and Cloud Pak, affecting versions 1.10.0.0 through 1.11.2.0.

The company released patches on June 3, 2025, addressing five distinct Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) that affect enterprise security infrastructure used by organizations worldwide.

OEM IBM 
Severity Critical 
CVSS Score 9.6 
CVEs CVE-2025-25022, CVE-2025-2502, CVE-2025-25020, CVE-2025-25019, CVE-2025-1334 
Actively Exploited No 
Exploited in Wild No 
Advisory Version 1.0 

Overview 

These include risks such as remote code execution, information disclosure, session hijacking, and denial of service. The most critical vulnerability (CVE-2025-25022) allows unauthenticated access to sensitive configuration files. IBM has released version 1.11.3.0 to address these issues. 

Vulnerability Name CVE ID Product Affected CVSS Score Severity 
​Information Disclosure Vulnerability  CVE-2025-25022 IBM Cloud Pak, QRadar Suite  9.6  Critical 
Code Execution Vulnerability  CVE-2025-25021 IBM QRadar SIEM  7.2  High 
Denial of Service Vulnerability  CVE-2025-25020 IBM QRadar SIEM  6.5  Medium 
Session Hijacking Vulnerability  CVE-2025-25019 IBM QRadar SIEM  4.8  Medium 
Web Cache Disclosure Vulnerability  CVE-2025-1334 IBM QRadar Suite  4.0  Medium 

Technical Summary 

The identified vulnerabilities affect both the IBM QRadar Suite and Cloud Pak, exposing them to a variety of threats such as unauthorized access, arbitrary code execution, and denial of service.

These flaws arise from weaknesses in session handling, code generation, API validation, and file configuration security. 

CVE ID System Affected Vulnerability Details Impact 
  CVE-2025-25022   QRadar SIEM Unauthenticated access to sensitive config files due to poor protections.   Information disclosure, RCE 
   CVE-2025-25021    QRadar SIEM Privileged code execution due to improper script code generation in case management.   Remote Code Execution 
  CVE-2025-25020   QRadar SIEM API input validation flaw allowing service crash via malformed data   Denial of Service 
   CVE-2025-25019    QRadar SIEM Sessions not invalidated upon logout, enabling impersonation by attackers. Session Hijacking 
  CVE-2025-1334   QRadar Suite Cached web content readable by other users, compromising multi-user data confidentiality. Local Info Disclosure 

Remediation

  • Apply Latest Fix: Upgrade to IBM QRadar Suite Software and Cloud Pak version 1.11.3.0 or later. 

Refer to IBM’s official installation and upgrade documentation for detailed steps.  

Conclusion: 
These vulnerabilities pose significant security risks, especially CVE-2025-25022 with a critical severity score of 9.6. Organizations using the affected IBM QRadar and Cloud Pak versions should prioritize upgrading to latest version to mitigate exposure.

IBM has acknowledged these issues and released patches to address all five vulnerabilities. 

Notably, IBM has identified no effective workarounds or mitigations for these vulnerabilities, making patching the only viable protection strategy.

References

Critical 0-Day Vulnerabilities in Qualcomm Adreno GPU Drivers Actively Exploited  

Summary 

OEM Qualcomm 
Severity HIGH 
CVSS Score 8.6 
CVEs CVE-2025-21479, CVE-2025-21480, CVE-2025-27038 
Actively Exploited Yes 
Exploited in Wild Yes 
Advisory Version 1.0 

Overview 

Three actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities in Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU drivers (CVE-2025-21479, CVE-2025-21480, CVE-2025-27038) have been disclosed and patched.

These flaws impact billions of Android devices across vendors such as Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, and OnePlus. Qualcomm released patches to OEMs in May 2025, urging immediate integration to mitigate severe memory corruption and code execution threats. 

Vulnerability Name CVE ID Product Affected CVSS Score Severity 
​Incorrect Authorization Vulnerability  CVE-2025-21479 Qualcomm Adreno GPU Driver  8.6  High 
Incorrect Authorization Vulnerability  CVE-2025-21480 Qualcomm Adreno GPU Driver  8.6  High 
Use-After-Free Vulnerability  CVE-2025-27038 Qualcomm Adreno GPU Driver  7.5  High 

Technical Summary 

These vulnerabilities reside within Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU driver, specifically in the Graphics component. The flaws allow attackers to corrupt memory, escalate privileges or execute arbitrary code. Two issues (CVE-2025-21479, CVE-2025-21480) result from incorrect authorization mechanisms in GPU microcode and the third (CVE-2025-27038) is a use-after-free flaw that can be exploited via malicious content rendered through Chrome. 

CVE ID System Affected Vulnerability Details Impact 
  CVE-2025-21479   Android (Adreno GPU) Unauthorized command execution during specific GPU microcode sequences causes memory corruption.   Privilege escalation, system compromise. 
   CVE-2025-21480    Android (Adreno GPU) Similar unauthorized GPU command flaw allowing memory corruption via improper authorization checks.   Memory corruption, remote code execution. 
  CVE-2025-27038   Android (Chrome/Adreno) Use-after-free condition in graphics rendering pipeline (via Chrome) allows attacker control over freed memory space.   Arbitrary code execution. 

Recommendations

  • Apply OEM Patches Immediately: Qualcomm released fixes in May 2025 to all OEMs; users should install the latest firmware updates from their device manufacturers. 
  • Check for Updates: Go to Settings → System → Software Update and apply the latest security patches as soon as available. 
  • Apply Security Updates: Users should ensure their Android devices receive the latest security updates. 
  • Monitor Manufacturer Communications: Stay informed about patch availability specific to your device model via official OEM channels. 

Conclusion: 
These zero-day vulnerabilities in Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU drivers highlight ongoing security risks in mobile hardware components.

Exploited in limited, targeted attacks potentially by spyware vendors or state-sponsored actors these flaws pose significant threats to Android devices worldwide. 

In response to confirmed exploitation, CISA has added all three CVEs (CVE-2025-21479, CVE-2025-21480, CVE-2025-27038) to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, mandating swift action for federal systems.

Timely patching by OEMs and proactive updates by users are critical to mitigating these risks and preventing further exploitation. 

References

 

Google Chrome Patches Actively Exploited Zero-Day Vulnerability 

Summary : Security Advisory

Google has released a critical out-of-band security update for its Chrome browser to address CVE-2025-5419.

Rated as high-severity zero-day vulnerability in the V8 JavaScript engine that is currently being actively exploited in the wild.

OEM Google 
Severity HIGH 
CVSS Score 8.8 
CVEs CVE-2025-5419 
Actively Exploited Yes 
Exploited in Wild Yes 
Advisory Version 1.0 

Overview 

This vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on users’ systems through specially crafted web content, making it a serious threat requiring immediate attention. 

In addition to the zero-day fix, this update also includes a patch for CVE-2025-5068, a medium severity use-after-free vulnerability in Blink, chrome’s rendering engine.

While less critical, such flaws can still result in memory corruption and possible code execution. 

Vulnerability Name CVE ID Product Affected Severity Fixed Version 
​Out-of-bounds memory access vulnerability  CVE-2025-5419 Google Chrome  High  137.0.7151.68/.69 (Win/Mac), 137.0.7151.68 (Linux) 

Technical Summary 

This high-severity vulnerability is caused by an out-of-bounds read and write weakness in Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine, reported one week ago by Clement Lecigne and Benoît Sevens of Google’s Threat Analysis Group.

This flaw affects the V8 JavaScript engine and allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted web content.

CVE ID System Affected Vulnerability Details Impact 
  CVE-2025-5419  Chrome (all platforms) Out-of-bounds read and write in the V8 JavaScript engine; triggered via malicious HTML   Arbitrary code execution, memory compromise, remote attack 

Remediation

Apply Patches Promptly: Upgrade to Chrome version 137.0.7151.68/.69 or later for Windows and macOS, and 137.0.7151.68 or later for Linux to mitigate the vulnerabilities. 

General Recommendation: 

  • Prioritize Zero-Day Fixes: Treat this patch as high priority due to confirmed in-the-wild exploitation. Immediate action is critical to prevent potential system compromise. 
  • Update Chromium-Based Browsers: Ensure Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi are updated as soon as vendor-specific patches are released. 
  • Automate Browser Updates: Enable automatic updates in Chrome and Chromium environments to maintain timely patching against emerging threats. 
  • Enterprise Patch Rollout: Administrators should fast-track deployment of the fixed version across all endpoints, particularly in high-risk or externally exposed environments. 
  • Monitor for Threat Activity: Continuously monitor browser and network activity for signs of exploitation attempts targeting vulnerable versions. 

Conclusion: 
CVE-2025-5419 poses a significant security risk with confirmed active exploitation in the wild.

Google’s swift action highlights the urgency of this threat. All users are strongly advised to update their Chrome browsers immediately. Delaying this update could expose systems to compromise through malicious web content exploiting this zero-day vulnerability. 

While Chrome will automatically update when new security patches are available, users can speed up the process by going to the Chrome menu > Help > About Google Chrome, letting the update finish, and clicking the ‘Relaunch’ button to install it immediately.

References

Ways to combat Cyber Threats; Strengthen your SOC’s readiness involves 3 key strategies

Cyber threats are no longer limited to human attackers, with AI-driven “bad bot” attacks now accounting for 1/3 as per research. These attacks can be automated, allowing attackers to launch more extensive and efficient campaigns

Organizations are now exposed new risks, providing cybercriminals with more entry points and potential “surface areas” to exploit as they go digital and adopt to innovations and wider use of digital technologies.

Some of the types of bad bots are DDoS bots, which disrupt a website or online service by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources.

Cybercriminals are using Gen-AI tools to improve the efficiency and yield of their campaigns – with Check Point Research’s recent AI Security Report 2025 flagging the use of the technology for malicious activities like AI-enhanced impersonation and social engineering.

Account takeover bots, which use stolen credentials to access users’ online accounts; web content scraping bots, which copy and reuse website content without permission; and social media bots, which spread fake news and propaganda on social media platforms.

The purpose of Bad Bot is expose critical flaws and vulnerabilities within the security frameworks that IT leaders have established in their architectures and operations.

Unfortunately, traditional security operations centers (SOCs) are built to detect threats based on predefined rules and human-driven logic or characteristics.

 AI-powered bots use automation and adaptive methods to execute more sophisticated and dynamic attacks that can bypass these existing defences.

Vulnerabilities are evolving so SOC team have more responsibilities then before as BOTs are AI powered.

Here we outlined three strategies to strengthen your SOC readiness

1.SOC team an essential or important component of business are in Fatigue Zone:

SOCs continuously monitor your organization’s network, systems, and applications to identify potential vulnerabilities and detect any signs of malicious activity.

SOC team quickly takes action to contain the threat and minimize damage, ultimately reducing the overall impact on your business.

Ponemon institute research say SOC teams are fatigued and one research pointed that 65% has fatigue and burn out issues.

That means Cyber security need to support the SOC teams and research found highlight that a lack of visibility and having to perform repetitive tasks are major contributors to analyst burnout.

Threat hunting teams have a difficult time identifying threats because they have too many IOCs to track, too much internal traffic to compare against IOCs.

Sometimes organizations have lack internal resources and expertise and too many false positives. 

Bringing out SOC team from fatigue issue is as important as investing on training, upskilling on cyber skills and development to keep your team’s spirit high.

Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of your SOC. Monitor these KPIs closely and use them to identify areas for improvement.

2. How do Organization harness Nex-gen technology to combat cyber Threats

Staying abreast of industry trends and best practices to ensure your SOC teams remains at the forefront of cyber security or ahead of the curve with Nex-gen technologies.

So that SOC teams can detect and respond to threats more quickly and efficiently, get holistic view of organizations security posture, AI and ML can augment the SOC team by automating routine task.

Many organizations are adopting hybrid cloud infrastructure and SaaS applications for productivity and cost efficiency reasons. But organizations face difficulty of managing and securing the data on those platforms, which is again leading to higher breach costs.

Darktrace report says 78% of the more than 1,500 security executives responding to a recent survey said that AI-powered threats are having a significant impact on their organizations – with many admitting they lack the knowledge, skills, and personnel to successfully defend against those threats.

Many organizations are already leveraging AI as a cyber-security tool.

Now more IT leaders say they are integrating AI into their cloud strategies for use in advanced security and threat detection.

Organizations can encounter several challenges when integrating AI into their cloud strategies.

Along with SOC team who seamlessly integrate across the organization, same is for AI. Seamless integrations of AI will make it easier for AI-assisted threat detection, notification, enrichment and remediation.

The purpose is AI should focus on tuning models that is organization specific environment. Once done AI will integrate threat intelligence and filtering will be done based on specific context.  This will help reinforcing trust with customers and stakeholders.

3. Investing in Predictive Threat Modelling priority  for Nex-gen SOC Teams

In this era where AI is being leveraged by organisation to derive accuracy, SOC teams who are evolving will prefer investing in intelligence predictive threat models that are proactive in nature to anticipate risks and refine their response strategies.

When organizations have a Threat Intelligence-Driven SOC  it is easier to transform security operations from reactive to proactive defence. Most of the organization builds and operates its own SOC. That is done by employing a dedicated team of cyber security professionals who offers to take complete control over security operations but can be resource-intensive.

AI makes the process easier, as having AI-driven analytics will assist detect anomalous behaviours and zero-day threats.

Further with implementing predictive threat modelling to anticipate emerging attack patterns and leveraging the right frameworks, tools and best practices will help organizations build an intelligence-driven SOC. And with an intelligence-driven SOC team, anticipating any cyber threats can be dealt with efficiency.

IntruceptLabs now offers Mirage Cloak and to summarise Mirage Cloak offers various deception methods to detect and stop threats before they cause damage.

These methods include adding decoys to the network, deploying breadcrumbs on current enterprise assets, using baits as tripwires on endpoints.

 This is executed by setting up lures with intentionally misconfigured or vulnerable services or applications.

The flexible framework also lets customers add new deception methods as needed.

Conclusion: Organizations can better protect their digital assets and ensure business continuity by understanding the key components and best practices for building a successful SOC.

At the end  we must accept that to defend against any sort of AI attack, SOC teams must evolve with right collaborations and effective communication between partners seamlessly to evaluate information to stay ahead of attackers.

Sources: What is SOC (Security Operations Center)?

AI seen as potential for improved threat detection & cost optimization; Wipro Report

As sophisticated cyber threat grows so is the cost and leaders are now preferring to leverage AI for improved threat detection, incident response and cost optimization.

Wipro report on ‘State of Cybersecurity Report 2025’ say 35% cybersecurity leaders which is nearly 33%, globally are opting for AI-driven automation at the forefront of their strategic priorities.

The report surveyed over 100 global cybersecurity leaders and consultants and found that AI-driven automation and cost optimization were among the main cybersecurity priorities for organizations.

Key findings:

30% of respondents state that investing in AI automation to bolster cybersecurity operations and reduce costs is a top priority.

Other strategies used by CISOs to optimize costs include tools rationalization (26%), security and risk management process optimization (23%) and operating model simplification (20%).
The report also highlights the growing role of AI in managing cyber threats and how investing in advanced AI-driven security solutions, continuously monitoring AI developments.

Fostering a culture of innovation and adaptation within cybersecurity teams can play a significant role in risk management.

Many CISOs are leveraging AI to improve threat detection and response times (31 %) and to build enhanced incident response capabilities (24%).

“Cybersecurity budgets are struggling to keep pace with the growing sophistication of cyber threats,” said Tony Buffomante, SVP & Global Head — Cybersecurity & Risk Services, Wipro Limited. “AI offers a solution by helping organizations strengthen defenses while optimizing costs. This allows CISOs to adopt a more outcome-driven focus by prioritizing risk-adjusted returns on investments.

However, even with AI’s growing significance, the implementation of Zero Trust security frameworks remains the predominant investment focus for nearly all surveyed leaders.

AI The crime enabler

In the beginning of 2025,  reports came from various sources attackers are weaponizing AI and what cyber security leaders will do about it.

We all know how AI AI has been a good force in helping organizations detect anomalies, automate security responses and to some extent strengthen defense measures. But cost is high and requires lot of investments which many organizations are unbale to do.

At the same time cybercriminals have started to leverage the same technology to supercharge their attacks.  The dark web we all know has long been a marketplace for malware and stolen credentials, but in 2025, we’re seeing a surge in AI-powered Cybercrime-as-a-Service (CaaS). Even low-skilled hackers can now rent AI-driven attack tools, making sophisticated threats accessible to a wider pool of cybercriminals.

But what is concerning the type of attacks  that selects high-value targets, customizes ransom demands and known as Automated ransomware.

Also malicious actors deploying AI Bots scan for vulnerabilities and analyze defenses, to launch cyber attacks with precisions.

Lot of voice and video spoofing kits have arrived in the market embedded with AI tools that generate convincing deepfake audio or video for fraud and impersonation scams.

Wake up call for Business & Organization

The rise of AI-powered cyber threats is a wake-up call for businesses, governments, and individuals alike and the ‘State of Cybersecurity Report 2025‘ exactly pin-points the necessity to have AI automation to bolster cybersecurity operations and reduce costs.

The next wave of cyber crime is going to be more tactful embedded with AI. AI can analyze vast amounts of publicly available data to create detailed psychological profiles of potential victims.

This enables cyber criminals and prepares them for highly targeted and persuasive social engineering attacks. Having automation driven by AI allows attacks to unfold much more rapidly, leaving defenders with less time to react.

Conclusion: AI-Powered Security Solutions: Just as attackers are leveraging AI, so too must defenders. Implementing AI-powered security tools will act as first line defense and will be able to adapt to new threats in real-time.

Sources: CISOs Increasingly Rely on AI to Navigate Cost Pressures and Enhance Resilience: Wipro Report

RCE Risk in D-Link Routers due to Hardcoded Telnet Credentials

Summary A significant security flaw (CVE-2025-46176) has exposed thousands of D-Link routers to remote code execution attacks through hardcoded Telnet credentials embedded in firmware. This is affecting its DIR-605L and DIR-816L routers.

If successful exploitation happens this will enables attackers to modify router configurations, deploy malware, or pivot into internal networks.

OEMD-link
SeverityMedium
CVSS Score6.5
CVEsCVE-2025-46176
Actively ExploitedNo
Exploited in WildNo
Advisory Version1.0

Overview

The flaw exposes devices to remote command execution (RCE) through hardcoded Telnet credentials.

The vulnerability has been rated medium in severity (CVSS 6.5), with no official firmware patch available as of May 2025.

Vulnerability NameCVE IDProduct AffectedSeverityFixed Version
Hardcoded Telnet Credentials vulnerability  CVE-2025-46176D-Link Router  MediumNo official fix available

Technical Summary

The vulnerability arises from hardcoded Telnet credentials in the router firmware, which allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands.

Firmware analysis revealed embedded credentials in configuration files used during Telnet service initialization.

Security experts recommended retiring these EOL devices due to absence of security support and the impossibility of removing hardcoded credentials through configuration changes.

CVE IDSystem AffectedVulnerability DetailsImpact
    CVE-2025-46176D-Link DIR-605L v2.13B01, DIR-816L v2.06B01Telnet service (/usr/sbin/telnetd -l /bin/sh -u Alphanetworks:$image_sign) uses hardcoded credentials from image_sign file, exposing plaintext passwords.      RCE

Recommendations:

As of May 2025, no firmware updates are available to fix the vulnerability. Recommended temporary mitigations include :

  • Disable Telnet access via the router’s web interface.
  • Block Telnet port (23) using firewall rules:

“iptables -A INPUT -p tcp –dport 23 -j DROP”

  • Restrict WAN access to management interfaces.
  • Monitor D-Link’s official support page for firmware updates.

Conclusion:
Security researchers discovered the flaw through firmware analysis, revealing that both router models contain default Telnet credentials that cannot be changed by users. 

While exploitation likelihood is currently assessed as low, vulnerability enables unauthenticated attackers to gain control of the routers, affecting confidentiality, integrity and availability.

Immediate mitigation is advised, especially for publicly exposed devices and Security experts strongly recommend retiring these EOL devices due to the absence of security support and the impossibility of removing hardcoded credentials through configuration changes.

Threat from Legacy Devices:

The vulnerability in Telnet revealed security risks that legacy networking equipment carry with them and is embedded hardcoded credentials in IoT devices.

Inadequate security, harboring multiple unpatched vulnerabilities and relying on inadequate security controls that fail to address underlying risks. This poses a threat not only to device itself, but also to the network and connected critical assets.

References:

NIST & CISA Proposed Metric for Vulnerability Exploitation Probability

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is proposing a new metric to determine the likelihood of any software or hardware vulnerability being exploited.

The new metric is “Likely Exploited Vulnerabilities” (LEV), that aims to close a key gap in vulnerability management.

This new data point can benefit the SecOps teams who are working to release an effective patch management strategy and address the development flaws.

NIST now wants members of cyber security community to come forward and validate the method as predicting which ones is important for the efficiency and cost effectiveness of enterprise vulnerability remediation.

However NIST proposed that predicting ones which is important for the efficiency and cost effectiveness of enterprise vulnerability remediation efforts is important.

Currently, such remediation efforts rely on the Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), which has known inaccurate values, and Known Exploited Vulnerability (KEV) lists, which may not be comprehensive.

The proposed likelihood metric may augment EPSS remediation (correcting some inaccuracies) and KEV lists (enabling measurements of comprehensiveness). However, collaboration with industry is necessary to provide necessary performance measurements.

Importance of Metric for Vulnerability Exploitation Probability

Remediating vulnerabilities is time-consuming and costly. According to the paper, most companies only manage to patch about 16% of the vulnerabilities affecting their systems each month.

Meanwhile, research shows that only about 5% of vulnerabilities are exploited in the wild.

It is found organizations would spend their limited resources patching that small but dangerous subset, but identifying them has proven difficult.

That’s where LEV comes in to assist organizations prioritize vulnerabilities that are likely to have already been used in attacks, the metric could make patching efforts more targeted and effective.

In a recently published paper, Peter Mell (formerly of NIST) and Jonathan Spring of CISA presented a vulnerability exploitation metric that builds upon the existing Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) and CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

The researchers noted that studies show only about 5% of known vulnerabilities are exploited in the wild, while organizations typically remediate only 16% of vulnerabilities each month.

The researchers outline four key ways LEV could be used:

1. Estimate how many vulnerabilities have been exploited.
2. Check how complete KEV lists are.
3. Identify high-risk vulnerabilities missing from those lists.
4. Fix blind spots in EPSS, which sometimes underestimates risk for already-exploited bugs.

Introducing the LEV Metric

Mell and Spring’s new metric—called Likely Exploited Vulnerabilities (LEV) probabilities—aims to address the limitations of both EPSS and the KEV catalog. While EPSS provides 30-day exploitation probabilities, it has known inaccuracies, particularly underestimating risk for already-exploited vulnerabilities. KEV, on the other hand, is limited by its reliance on known exploit data and may not be comprehensive.

LEV probabilities are designed to:

  • Estimate how many and which vulnerabilities are likely to have been exploited
  • Assess the completeness of the KEV catalog
  • Enhance KEV-based prioritization by identifying likely-exploited vulnerabilities not yet listed
  • Improve EPSS-based prioritization by correcting underestimations

Key Findings

The researchers compared LEV and EPSS scores for specific vulnerabilities, showing significant differences.

For example:

  • CVE-2023-1730 (SupportCandy WordPress plugin SQL injection): before 3.1.5, the LEV probability was 0.70, while the peak EPSS score was 0.16.
  • CVE-2023-29373 (Microsoft ODBC Driver RCE – Remote Code Execution vulnerability): the LEV probability was 0.54350, while the peak EPSS probability was 0.08.

The LEV analysis identified hundreds of vulnerabilities with probabilities near 1.0. However, many of these are not listed in current KEV catalogs. NIST is actively seeking collaboration with partners as real-world validation is must for LEV to be a promising idea rather than a trusted tool.

NIST is currently seeking industry partners with relevant datasets to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of LEV probabilities through real-world performance measurements.

Sources: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/05/26/nist-likely-exploited-vulnerabilities/#:~:text=LEV%20aims%20to%20bridge%20that,%2C%20not%20replace%2C%20existing%20methods.

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