VulnerabilityPublished 22 Feb 2024Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-52161: iwd · Improper Authentication

Affects iwdSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High : upgrade to 2.14 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 11:42 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

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

EPSS: 1.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 65% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 2.14

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
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: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
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

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Feb 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: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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 26 Oct 2026.

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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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

Upgrade the Fedora fedora/iwd package to 2.14.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Fedorafedora/iwd`pkg:rpm/fedora/iwd`Other threats	Affected <2.14	Fixed in 2.14

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Upgrade all instances of iNet wireless daemon (IWD) to version 2.14 or later, where the vulnerability is patched.
If immediate upgrading is not feasible, implement network segmentation to isolate wireless access points from sensitive internal networks, limiting potential lateral movement.
Monitor wireless network logs for unusual EAPOL handshake patterns, such as skipped messages or anomalous key exchanges, which may indicate exploitation attempts.
Employ network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) with signatures or heuristics capable of detecting abnormal EAPOL traffic.
Restrict physical and network access to wireless access points to trusted personnel and devices.
Conduct regular security audits of wireless infrastructure configurations and firmware versions.
Educate network administrators about this specific vulnerability and encourage vigilance for suspicious wireless authentication behavior.
Consider deploying additional authentication layers or network access control (NAC) solutions to mitigate risks from compromised Wi-Fi authentication.

Description

The Access Point functionality in eapol_auth_key_handle in eapol.c in iNet wireless daemon (IWD) before 2.14 allows attackers to gain unauthorized access to a protected Wi-Fi network. An attacker can complete the EAPOL handshake by skipping Msg2/4 and instead sending Msg4/4 with an all-zero key.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk of unauthorized access to protected Wi-Fi networks managed by IWD. Such unauthorized access can lead to data interception, lateral movement within internal networks, and potential exposure of sensitive information. Organizations in sectors with high security requirements, such as finance, healthcare, and government, could face confidentiality breaches. The vulnerability's network-based exploitability means attackers do not need physical access or credentials, increasing the attack surface. Additionally, compromised Wi-Fi networks can be used as entry points for further attacks, including malware deployment or espionage. The lack of impact on integrity and availability reduces the risk of service disruption but does not mitigate the confidentiality threat. European entities using Linux-based wireless infrastructure, especially those deploying IWD as an access point daemon, are particularly vulnerable. The absence of known exploits in the wild provides a window for proactive mitigation before widespread exploitation occurs.

CWE-287Improper Authentication (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use an authentication framework or library such as the OWASP ESAPI Authentication feature.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
V9.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Fake the Source of Data (opens in a new tab)
Utilizing REST's Trust in the System Resource to Obtain Sensitive Data (opens in a new tab)
Session Hijacking (opens in a new tab)
Token Impersonation (opens in a new tab)
Upload a Web Shell to a Web Server (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 11 Nov 2025, 21:03 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-287

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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