VulnerabilityPublished 21 Jan 2024Updated 21 Oct 2025

CVE-2024-0769: D-Link DIR-859 · Path Traversal

Affects D-Link DIR-859Source CVE Database V5

Exploited in the wild · KEV due 16 Jul 2025 · 82% EPSS · end of life, no fix coming : replace or isolate D-Link DIR-859; no fix will be released.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

KEV deadline: 16 Jul 2025 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else.
EPSS: 82.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 99% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: None coming – the product is end of life

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
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 21 Jan 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 1.4 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 VulDB
20 Jan 202415:12 UTC, 17 hours before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
21 Jan 202408:00 UTC, t = 0
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed
25 Jun 2025, 1.4 years after disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
16 Jul 2025, 1.5 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 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

No fix will be released: D-Link DIR-859 is end of life. Replace it, or isolate it from untrusted networks until you can.

Check the firmware or software version for D-Link DIR-859 in the device's admin interface against the vendor advisory.

Description

** UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED ** A vulnerability was found in D-Link DIR-859 1.06B01. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the file /hedwig.cgi of the component HTTP POST Request Handler. The manipulation of the argument service with the input ../../../../htdocs/webinc/getcfg/DHCPS6.BRIDGE-1.xml leads to path traversal. The attack may be launched remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. VDB-251666 is the identifier assigned to this vulnerability. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer. NOTE: Vendor was contacted early and confirmed immediately that the product is end-of-life. It should be retired and replaced.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-0769 is unauthorized disclosure of sensitive configuration files or other data accessible via path traversal. Attackers could leverage this to gather network configuration details, potentially facilitating further attacks such as network reconnaissance or targeted exploitation of other vulnerabilities. Since the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability, it does not directly enable device takeover or denial of service. However, disclosure of configuration files could expose credentials or network topology information, increasing the risk of subsequent compromise. Organizations relying on the DIR-859 in sensitive environments may face increased exposure to espionage or targeted attacks. The lack of vendor support and patches means that affected devices remain vulnerable indefinitely, raising long-term security concerns. The exploitability without authentication and remote access capability further elevates the threat, especially in networks where the device is accessible from untrusted networks.

Mitigation

Given the device is end-of-life and no patches are available, the primary mitigation is to retire and replace the D-Link DIR-859 router with a supported model that receives security updates. Until replacement, network administrators should restrict access to the router's management interface by implementing strict firewall rules to block HTTP POST requests to /hedwig.cgi from untrusted sources. Network segmentation should be employed to isolate the device from critical assets and limit exposure. Monitoring network traffic for suspicious POST requests targeting the vulnerable endpoint can help detect exploitation attempts. If possible, disable remote management features or restrict management access to trusted IP addresses only. Regularly audit device configurations and logs for signs of unauthorized access. Educate users about the risks of using unsupported hardware and the importance of timely device replacement. Finally, consider deploying network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) with signatures for path traversal attempts targeting this router model.

Summary

CVE-2024-0769 is a path traversal vulnerability classified under CWE-22, impacting the D-Link DIR-859 router firmware version 1.06B01. The vulnerability arises from insufficient validation of the 'service' parameter in HTTP POST requests to the /hedwig.cgi endpoint. By injecting a crafted payload such as '../../../../htdocs/webinc/getcfg/DHCPS6.BRIDGE-1.xml', an attacker can traverse the file system hierarchy and access arbitrary files outside the intended directory scope. This can lead to unauthorized disclosure of configuration files or other sensitive data stored on the device. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without requiring authentication or user interaction, increasing its risk profile. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium), reflecting the confidentiality impact without integrity or availability effects. The vendor has confirmed the product is end-of-life and no patches will be issued, advising users to retire or replace the device. No known exploits have been observed in the wild, but public disclosure means attackers could develop exploits. The vulnerability affects only version 1.06B01 of the DIR-859 router, which is a consumer-grade networking device commonly used in home and small office environments.

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

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Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Feb 2026, 11:09 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-22

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