CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-11965 — In IQrouter through 3.3.1, there is a root user without a password, which allows attackers to gain full remote access via SSH

Critical CVSS 9.8

In IQrouter through 3.3.1, there is a root user without a password, which allows attackers to gain full remote access via SSH. Note: The vendor claims that this vulnerability can only occur on a brand-new network that, after initiating the forced initial configuration (which has a required step for setting a secure password on the system), makes this CVE invalid. This vulnerability is “true for any unconfigured release of OpenWRT, and true of many other new Linux distros prior to being configured for the first time”

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Published
2020-04-21
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-287

Affected products

  • evenroute / iqrouter_firmware

Matched remediation archetype

Authentication bypass and missing authentication

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

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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