Skip to main content
CVE-2021-36260NewsPublished

Cybercriminals Are Selling Access to Chinese Surveillance Cameras

Source Threatpost

0
Compare
Authoritative record:CVE-2021-36260· Critical 9.8

Exploited in the wild · KEV due 24 Jan 2022 · public exploit available (Metasploit, Exploit-DB) : block it and hunt for it in your logs now.

Data as of 4 Aug 2026, 12:42 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
9.8Critical
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
KEV deadline
 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else. Other KEV due dates
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

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

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 22 Sep 2021

  2. Exploited in the wild: evidence found.

    Listed in CISA KEV 110 days after disclosure

  3. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: evidence found.

    3 exposed hosts found; no attack traffic recorded

Timeline

  1. CVE published

    on cve.org

    , t = 0

  2. First Exploit-DB entry (opens in a new tab)

    Hikvision Web Server Build 210702 - Command Injection

    , 33 days after disclosure

  3. , 110 days after disclosure

  4. KEV remediation due

    US federal deadline

    , 124 days 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), OffSeq Mirage (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2 Nov 2026.

Description

A critical command injection vulnerability (CVE-2021-36260) affecting Hikvision surveillance cameras remains unpatched in over 80,000 devices worldwide nearly a year after disclosure. The vulnerability has a critical severity rating of 9.8 and allows remote command injection. Despite the severity, many devices remain exposed due to challenges in patching IoT devices and use of default credentials. Cybercriminals are actively selling access to these vulnerable cameras on dark web forums. The full extent of exploitation is unclear, but threat actors including Chinese and Russian groups could potentially leverage this flaw.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…