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CVE-2023-40146VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2023-40146: Peplink Smart Reader · Command Injection

Affects Peplink Smart ReaderSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.8 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
6.8Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
1.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 72% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 17 Apr 2024

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

What to do

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2023-40146, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Immediately restrict network access to Peplink Smart Reader devices, ensuring they are not exposed to untrusted or public networks. 2) Change or disable any hard-coded or default credentials to prevent unauthorized authentication. 3) Employ network segmentation to isolate these devices from critical infrastructure and sensitive data environments. 4) Monitor device logs and network traffic for unusual command executions or authentication attempts indicative of exploitation attempts. 5) If possible, disable or limit BusyBox functionality or shell access on the device to reduce the attack surface. 6) Engage with Peplink support or vendors to obtain updates or patches as soon as they become available. 7) Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing focused on these devices. 8) Implement strict access control policies and multi-factor authentication where supported to further harden device security. 9) Maintain an incident response plan tailored to potential exploitation scenarios involving these devices.

Description

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the /bin/login functionality of Peplink Smart Reader v1.2.0 (in QEMU). A specially crafted command line argument can lead to a limited-shell escape and elevated capabilities. An attacker can authenticate with hard-coded credentials and execute unblocked default busybox functionality to trigger this vulnerability.

References

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