CVE-2022-25217
Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key pair by the telnetd_startup service allows an attacker on...
Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key pair by the telnetd_startup service allows an attacker on the local area network to obtain a root shell on the device over telnet. The builds of telnetd_startup included in the version 22.5.9.163 of the K2 firmware, and version 32.1.15.93 of the K3C firmware (possibly amongst many other releases) included both the private and public RSA keys. The remaining versions cited here redacted the private key, but left the public key unchanged. An attacker in possession of the leaked private key may, through a scripted exchange of UDP packets, instruct telnetd_startup to spawn an unauthenticated telnet shell as root, by means of which they can then obtain complete control of the device. A consequence of the limited availablility of firmware images for testing is that models and versions not listed here may share this vulnerability.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
7.8
Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key pair by the telnetd_startup service allows an attacker on the local area network to obtain a root shell on the device over telnet. The builds of telnetd_startup included in the version 22.5.9.163 of the K2 firmware, and version 32.1.15.93 of the K3C firmware (possibly amongst many other releases) included both the private and public RSA keys. The remaining versions cited here redacted the private key, but left the public key unchanged. An attacker in possession of the leaked private key may, through a scripted exchange of UDP packets, instruct telnetd_startup to spawn an unauthenticated telnet shell as root, by means of which they can then obtain complete control of the device. A consequence of the limited availablility of firmware images for testing is that models and versions not listed here may share this vulnerability.
- Record
CVE-2022-25217- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-798
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key pair by the telnetd_startup service allows an attacker on the local area network to obtain a root shell on the device over telnet. The builds of telnetd_startup included in the version 22.5.9.163 of the K2 firmware, and version 32.1.15.93 of the K3C firmware (possibly amongst many other releases) included both the private and public RSA keys. The remaining versions cited here redacted the private key, but left the public key unchanged. An attacker in possession of the leaked private key may, through a scripted exchange of UDP packets, instruct telnetd_startup to spawn an unauthenticated telnet shell as root, by means of which they can then obtain complete control of the device. A consequence of the limited availablility of firmware images for testing is that models and versions not listed here may share this vulnerability.
- Record
CVE-2022-25217- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-29916 No score
Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key pair by the telnetd_startup service allows an attacker on the local area network to obtain a root shell on the device over telnet. The builds of telnetd_startup included in the version 22.5.9.163 of the K2 firmware, and version 32.1.15.93 of the K3C firmware (possibly amongst many other releases) included both the private and public RSA keys. The remaining versions cited here redacted the private key, but left the public key unchanged. An attacker in possession of the leaked private key may, through a scripted exchange of UDP packets, instruct telnetd_startup to spawn an unauthenticated telnet shell as root, by means of which they can then obtain complete control of the device. A consequence of the limited availablility of firmware images for testing is that models and versions not listed here may share this vulnerability.
- Record
EUVD-2022-29916- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-vvvr-4847-2p4f
7.8
Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key pair by the telnetd_startup service allows an attacker on...
Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key pair by the telnetd_startup service allows an attacker on the local area network to obtain a root shell on the device over telnet. The builds of telnetd_startup included in the version 22.5.9.163 of the K2 firmware, and version 32.1.15.93 of the K3C firmware (possibly amongst many other releases) included both the private and public RSA keys. The remaining versions cited here redacted the private key, but left the public key unchanged. An attacker in possession of the leaked private key may, through a scripted exchange of UDP packets, instruct telnetd_startup to spawn an unauthenticated telnet shell as root, by means of which they can then obtain complete control of the device. A consequence of the limited availablility of firmware images for testing is that models and versions not listed here may share this vulnerability.
- Record
GHSA-vvvr-4847-2p4f- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-798
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2022-25217 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Phicomm K2 Firmware, published March 7, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.33%, the 26th percentile. No source names a fixed version.