CVE-2026-42376CWE-798

D-Link DIR-456U A1 Hardcoded Telnet Backdoor Credentials

Critical · published May 4, 2026

CVSS v3.1
9.8
EPSS
1%
Percentile
57.7
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

D-Link DIR-456U Hardware Revision A1 (End-of-Life, EOL) contains a hardcoded telnet backdoor. The device starts a telnet daemon at boot via /etc/init0.d/S80telnetd.sh with the username "Alphanetworks" and the static password "whdrv01_dlob_dir456U" read from /etc/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.

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
9.8 · CRITICAL
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.00848 · 57.7th percentile
Weakness
CWE-798 · Use of Hard-coded Credentials
Published
2026-05-04T16:03Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 04 MAY 16:03Z
    D-Link DIR-456U A1 Hardcoded Telnet Backdoor Credentials
    cvelistv5