CVE-2026-24430 is a vulnerability identified in the Shenzhen Tenda Technology Co., Ltd. W30E V2 router firmware versions up to and including V16.01.0.19(5037). The vulnerability is classified under CWE-201, which involves the insertion of sensitive information into sent data. Specifically, the router's maintenance interface discloses sensitive account credentials in cleartext within HTTP responses. The management interface is accessible over unencrypted HTTP by default, meaning that credentials such as usernames and passwords are transmitted without encryption. This allows an attacker with network access to intercept these credentials via network sniffing or man-in-the-middle attacks. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 8.2 (high severity), reflecting network attack vector (AV:N), high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and high impact on confidentiality (VC:H) with no impact on integrity or availability. The attack complexity is high, likely due to the need for local network access or specific conditions to intercept the traffic. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, and no patches or firmware updates have been linked yet. The vulnerability poses a significant risk because compromised credentials can allow attackers to gain unauthorized administrative access to the router, potentially leading to further network compromise, traffic manipulation, or persistent access. The lack of encryption on the management interface is a critical design flaw that facilitates this vulnerability.

For European organizations, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and home office environments that commonly deploy consumer-grade routers like the Tenda W30E V2, this vulnerability presents a serious risk. Exposure of administrative credentials can lead to unauthorized access to the router, enabling attackers to alter configurations, redirect traffic, or establish persistent backdoors. This can compromise the confidentiality and integrity of internal communications and potentially allow lateral movement within corporate networks. Given the default use of unencrypted HTTP for management, attackers on the same local network or connected via compromised Wi-Fi can exploit this vulnerability. The impact is particularly severe in environments lacking network segmentation or where remote management is enabled without additional protections. The vulnerability could also affect managed service providers who use these devices for customer premises equipment, potentially expanding the attack surface. The absence of known exploits currently limits immediate widespread impact, but the high severity score and ease of credential interception make it a critical concern for network security teams.

1. Immediately disable HTTP access to the router's management interface and enable HTTPS or other encrypted management protocols if supported. 2. Restrict management interface access to trusted IP addresses or VLANs, isolating it from general user networks. 3. Monitor network traffic for unauthorized access attempts or suspicious HTTP requests to the router's maintenance interface. 4. Change default credentials to strong, unique passwords to reduce the risk if credentials are intercepted. 5. Regularly check for and apply firmware updates from Shenzhen Tenda that address this vulnerability once available. 6. For environments where firmware updates are delayed, consider replacing affected devices with models known to implement secure management interfaces. 7. Educate users and administrators about the risks of unencrypted management interfaces and the importance of network segmentation. 8. Employ network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) to detect anomalous traffic patterns indicative of credential interception attempts. 9. Disable remote management over untrusted networks unless secured via VPN or other strong encryption methods.