D-Link DIR-300 Router: vulnerability flaw under attack

What is affected

D-Link DIR-300 Router is the kind of equipment many homes and small offices run for years without touching: a router, camera or storage box. Attackers scan the internet for exposed units, and a hijacked one can spy on traffic or be enrolled in a botnet without any visible sign.

The D-Link DIR-300 router stores cleartext passwords, which allows context-dependent attackers to obtain sensitive information.

What an attacker can do

This is a vulnerability flaw. It lets an attacker misuse the product in a way its maker did not intend. CISA lists it because attackers are confirmed to be using it against real systems.

How it is reached

From the same local network

Access the attacker needs

A basic user account

Does the victim have to do something?

No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

1. Check whether you own this device: look at the label on your router, camera or NAS, or open its admin page and note the model and firmware version.
2. Install the latest firmware from the manufacturer's support page or the device's own update menu.
3. If the manufacturer no longer releases updates for the model, replace it. An end-of-life device with an exploited flaw cannot be made safe.
4. Turn off remote administration from the internet unless you truly need it, and change the default admin password.

The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.

Vendor advisories and fixes

• dlink.comwww.dlink.com/uk/en/support/product/dir-300-wireless-g-router

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on September 8, 2022, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by September 29, 2022, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 3.1% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 87% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 5.7 out of 10 (medium), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

The D-Link DIR-300 router stores cleartext passwords, which allows context-dependent attackers to obtain sensitive information via unspecified vectors.