CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-10916 — Tp-Link Tl-Wa855Re Firmware security vulnerability

High CVSS 8

This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of TP-Link TL-WA855RE Firmware Ver: 855rev4-up-ver1-0-1-P1[20191213-rel60361] Wi-Fi extenders. Although authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability, the existing authentication mechanism can be bypassed. The specific flaw exists within the first-time setup process. The issue results from the lack of proper validation on first-time setup requests. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to reset the password for the Admin account and execute code in the context of the device. Was ZDI-CAN-10003.

Severity
High
CVSS
8 (3.1)
Published
2020-05-07
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-287

Affected products

  • tp-link / tl-wa855re_firmware / 190408
  • tp-link / tl-wa855re_firmware / 191213

Matched remediation archetype

Authentication bypass and missing authentication

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Check exposure

  • Map every affected endpoint and protocol path, including alternate ports, legacy routes, recovery flows, service accounts, and machine-to-machine access.
  • Confirm which deployments enable the affected authentication mode and whether the interface is reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review session, token, credential, and proxy trust configuration without attempting account takeover.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and centralize fail-closed authentication before protected request handling.
  • Remove default or embedded credentials, rotate affected secrets and sessions, and bind authentication decisions to the intended audience and channel.
  • Add negative tests for alternate routes, malformed or absent credentials, recovery flows, and proxy-derived identity.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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