CVE-2023-40146 MEDIUM

CVE-2023-40146

Vendor Peplink
Product Smart Reader
Weakness CWE-77
Published April 17, 2024
Last update November 4, 2025

CVSS base score

6.8/10
Attack vector Physical
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

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

What the vulnerability does

01Description

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.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

April 17, 2024 CVE published
November 4, 2025 Record updated