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CVE-2023-40146 Details

Description

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the /bin/login functionality of Peplink Smart Reader v1.2.0 (in QEMU). A specially crafted command line argument can lead to a limited-shell escape and elevated capabilities. An attacker can authenticate with hard-coded credentials and execute unblocked default busybox functionality to trigger this vulnerability.

Metrics

CVSS 3.x Severity and Vector Strings:

NIST: [email protected]CVSS-B:9.8 CRITICALVector:CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CNA: [email protected]CVSS-B:6.8 MEDIUMVector:CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

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URL	Source(s)	Tag(s)
https://forum.peplink.com/t/peplink-security-advisory-smart-reader-firmware-1-2-0-cve-2023-43491-cve-2023-45209-cve-2023-39367-cve-2023-45744-cve-2023-40146/47256	CVE	Vendor Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240822-0008/	CVE	Third Party Advisory
https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1868	CVE	ExploitThird Party Advisory
https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1868	CVE
https://forum.peplink.com/t/peplink-security-advisory-smart-reader-firmware-1-2-0-cve-2023-43491-cve-2023-45209-cve-2023-39367-cve-2023-45744-cve-2023-40146/47256	[email protected]	Vendor Advisory
https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1868	[email protected]	ExploitThird Party Advisory

see all 6 references

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-ID	CWE Name	Source
CWE-798	Use of Hard-coded Credentials	[email protected]
CWE-77	Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')	[email protected]

Affected Products

Product	Versions
peplink smart reader firmware	1.2.0
CPE cpe:2.3:o:peplink:smart_reader_firmware:1.2.0:::::::* Remediation No remediation found in references.
peplink smart reader	All versions
CPE cpe:2.3:h:peplink:smart_reader:-:::::::* Remediation No remediation found in references.

Change History

9 change records found show changes

Date	Action	Recorded By
Jun 17, 2026	CVE Modified	CISA-ADP
Jun 17, 2026	CVE Modified	[email protected]
Nov 4, 2025	CVE Modified	CVE
Aug 21, 2025	Initial Analysis	[email protected]
Nov 21, 2024	CVE Modified	CVE
May 14, 2024	CVE Modified	[email protected]
Apr 17, 2024	CVE Modified	[email protected]
Apr 17, 2024	CVE Modified	[email protected]
Apr 17, 2024	New CVE Received	[email protected]