CVE-2025-44963VulnerabilityPublished 4 Aug 2025Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-44963: RUCKUS Network Director · Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key

Affects RUCKUS Network DirectorSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.0 Critical.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.0Critical

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

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 50% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

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: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
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: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
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: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Aug 2025
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 2026-10-26.

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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
RUCKUS Network Director	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Immediate network segmentation: Restrict access to RUCKUS Network Director management interfaces to trusted administrative networks only, using firewalls and access control lists. 2. Monitor JWT usage: Implement logging and anomaly detection to identify suspicious or forged JWT tokens indicating potential exploitation attempts. 3. 4. Rotate cryptographic keys: If possible, reconfigure or regenerate secret keys used for JWT signing to invalidate hard-coded keys. 5. Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA): Add MFA to administrative access to reduce risk even if token forgery occurs. 6. Conduct regular security audits: Review RND configurations and network access policies to ensure adherence to least privilege principles. 7. Use intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS): Deploy network security tools to detect exploitation attempts targeting RND. 8. Educate network administrators about the vulnerability and signs of compromise to enhance incident response readiness.

Description

RUCKUS Network Director (RND) before 4.5 allows spoofing of an administrator JWT by an attacker who knows the hardcoded value of a certain secret key.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-44963 can be severe. Compromise of RUCKUS Network Director administrative access can lead to unauthorized changes in network configurations, potentially exposing sensitive data or disrupting network availability. Attackers could manipulate network policies, disable security controls, or intercept network traffic, undermining confidentiality and integrity. Critical infrastructure sectors such as telecommunications, government, finance, and healthcare that depend on RUCKUS-managed networks could face operational disruptions or data breaches. The vulnerability’s remote exploitability without authentication increases the attack surface, especially in environments where RND interfaces are accessible from less trusted networks. Additionally, the scope of impact extends to all devices managed by the compromised RND instance, amplifying potential damage. The absence of known exploits in the wild provides a window for proactive defense, but the critical nature demands immediate attention to prevent potential targeted attacks.

Summary

CVE-2025-44963 is a critical security vulnerability identified in RUCKUS Network Director (RND) versions before 4.5. The root cause is the use of a hard-coded cryptographic key embedded within the software, classified under CWE-321. This key is used to sign administrator JWTs, which are tokens that authenticate and authorize administrative access to the RND management interface. Because the key is hard-coded and static, an attacker who discovers or extracts this key can forge valid administrator JWTs without needing legitimate credentials or authentication. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network without any user interaction or privileges, making it highly dangerous. Exploiting this flaw allows an attacker to gain full administrative control over the RND system, potentially leading to unauthorized configuration changes, network monitoring, or disruption of network services managed by RUCKUS devices. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 9.0, indicating critical severity with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Although no public exploits have been observed in the wild yet, the vulnerability’s nature and ease of exploitation make it a significant threat. RUCKUS Network Director is widely used for centralized management of RUCKUS wireless and wired network infrastructure, making this vulnerability a critical risk for organizations relying on these systems for network operations and security.

CWE-321Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A04:2025: Cryptographic Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product uses a hard-coded, unchangeable cryptographic key.
Architecture and Design
Prevention schemes mirror that of hard-coded password storage.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Transport Layer Protection (opens in a new tab)
User Privacy Protection (opens in a new tab)
Password Storage (opens in a new tab)
Cryptographic Storage (opens in a new tab)
HSTS (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V2.6.2 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.5 (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 4 Nov 2025, 01:26 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-321

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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