CVE-2023-40146

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.

CVSS 6.8 · Medium

External lookup

Potential internet exposure

Potential exposure only — not proof of vulnerability.Shodan results indicate potentially internet-exposed products, not confirmed vulnerable systems. They do not confirm that any returned system is vulnerable to CVE-2023-40146.

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Product CPE queries

Derived from this CVE's existing NVD CPE 2.3 records; the application, operating-system, or hardware part is retained.

cpe:2.3:h:peplink:smart_readerSearch this product on Shodan
cpe:2.3:o:peplink:smart_reader_firmwareSearch this product on Shodan

Exact CVE query

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Metadata

Canonical fields

NVD status

Unavailable

Published

Apr 17, 2024

Modified

Jun 17, 2026

Official record

Authoritative NVD record

CVSS vector

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

CWE IDs

Vendor classifications

How this vector reads

CVSS 3.1 base metrics decoded below. This explanation does not recalculate or change the NVD score.

Attack Vector (AV): Physical. The attacker needs physical access to the vulnerable system.
Attack Complexity (AC): Low. No special conditions beyond the attacker-controlled steps are required.
Privileges Required (PR): None. The attacker needs no privileges on the vulnerable system.
User Interaction (UI): None. Exploitation does not require another user to act.
Scope (S): Unchanged. Impacts remain within the vulnerable security authority.
Confidentiality Impact (C): High. There is a total or serious impact to this security property.
Integrity Impact (I): High. There is a total or serious impact to this security property.
Availability Impact (A): High. There is a total or serious impact to this security property.

Signals

Exploitation indicators

0 stored signals · no KEV · 0 OTX pulses