CVE-2023-50224VulnerabilityPublished 3 May 2024Updated 21 Oct 2025

CVE-2023-50224: TP-Link TL-WR841N · Authentication Bypass by Spoofing

Affects TP-Link TL-WR841NSource CVE Database V5

Exploited in the wild · KEV due 24 Sep 2025 · 20% EPSS : apply the vendor's fix or mitigations to TP-Link TL-WR841N now.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.0 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

KEV deadline: 24 Sep 2025 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else.
EPSS: 20.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 97% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Adjacent
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Adjacent: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack, but the attack is limited at the protocol level to a logically adjacent topology. This can mean an attack must be launched from the same shared physical (e.g., Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11) or logical (e.g., local IP subnet) network, or from within a secure or otherwise limited administrative domain (e.g., MPLS, secure VPN to an administrative network zone).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 3 May 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: evidence found.
Listed in CISA KEV 1.3 years after disclosure
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

CVE ID reserved
by zdi
2023-12-0516:15Z, 150 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
2024-05-0302:14Z, t = 0
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed
2025-09-03, 1.3 years after disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
2025-09-24, 1.4 years after disclosure

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

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Check the firmware or software version for TP-Link TL-WR841N in the device's admin interface against the vendor advisory.

Description

TP-Link TL-WR841N dropbearpwd Improper Authentication Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of TP-Link TL-WR841N routers. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the httpd service, which listens on TCP port 80 by default. The issue results from improper authentication. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to disclose stored credentials, leading to further compromise. . Was ZDI-CAN-19899.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential unauthorized disclosure of sensitive router credentials, which can lead to further compromise of network infrastructure. Attackers gaining access to these credentials could alter router configurations, redirect traffic, or establish persistent access points. This is particularly concerning for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and home office setups that rely on the TP-Link TL-WR841N router without additional network segmentation or security controls. Confidentiality is severely impacted, while integrity and availability remain unaffected directly. The ease of exploitation without authentication or user interaction increases the risk, especially in environments where the router's management interface is exposed to untrusted network segments. The vulnerability could also be leveraged as a foothold for broader attacks on corporate or home networks, potentially leading to data breaches or espionage. However, the lack of known exploits in the wild currently limits immediate widespread risk.

Mitigation

Organizations should first verify if they are running the affected firmware version (3.16.9 build 200409) on TP-Link TL-WR841N routers. Since no official patches are currently linked, mitigation should focus on network-level controls: restrict access to the router's management interface by implementing VLAN segmentation or firewall rules that block TCP port 80 access from untrusted or external networks. Disable remote management features if enabled. Regularly monitor network traffic for unusual access attempts to the router's HTTP service. If possible, upgrade to a newer firmware version once TP-Link releases a patch addressing this vulnerability. Consider replacing affected devices with models that have active security support if patching is not feasible. Additionally, change default credentials and use strong, unique passwords to reduce the risk of further compromise. Employ network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) to detect anomalous activities targeting router management interfaces.

CWE-290Authentication Bypass by Spoofing (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
This attack-focused weakness is caused by incorrectly implemented authentication schemes that are subject to spoofing attacks.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
REST Security (opens in a new tab)
JSON Web Token for Java (opens in a new tab)
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V3.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Creating a Rogue Certification Authority Certificate (opens in a new tab)
Web Services API Signature Forgery Leveraging Hash Function Extension Weakness (opens in a new tab)
Signature Spoof (opens in a new tab)
Signature Spoofing by Misrepresentation (opens in a new tab)
Session Credential Falsification through Prediction (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

Timeline

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 21 Oct 2025, 20:01 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-290

Technical details

References

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