CVE-2026-42373

What it is

D-Link DIR-605L Hardware Revision B2 (End-of-Life, EOL) contains a hardcoded telnet backdoor. The device starts a telnet daemon at boot via /bin/telnetd.sh with the username "Alphanetworks" and the static password "wrgn76_dlwbr_dir605L" read from /etc/alpha_config/image_sign. The custom telnetd binary accepts a -u user:password flag, and the custom login binary uses strcmp() to validate credentials. Successful authentication grants an unauthenticated attacker on the local network a root shell with full administrative control. The device has reached End-of-Life (EOL) and will not receive patches.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

No patch or advisory is linked yet. Look at mitigations or restrict exposure.

Timeline

1. 2026-05-04 17:16 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-25 23:10 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Details

Published

2026-05-04 17:16 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-25 23:10 UTC

Exploit probability

0.5% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-798 · Hard-coded credentials

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Dlink dir-605l Firmware

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 9.8

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High