CVE-2026-36538 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2026-36538
Vulnerability Scoring

7.3
/10
Very High Risk

Highly exploitable, CVE-2026-36538 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: None
    No privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2026-36538 Details

Status: Deferred

Last updated: 🕑 05 Jul 2026, 02:17 UTC
Originally published on: 🕑 27 May 2026, 14:16 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 38 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

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

CVE-2026-36538 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2026-36538: Netis AC1200 Router NC21 V4.0.1.4296 contains a hard-coded root credential stored in /etc/shadow.sample. The password for the root account is set to the trivially weak value root, allowing an attacker with access to the device to authenticate as root and gain full control of the underlying operating system.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2026-36538

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2026-36538 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2026-36538

With low attack complexity and no required privileges, CVE-2026-36538 is an easy target for cybercriminals. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-36538, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-36538, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: Low
    CVE-2026-36538 could lead to minor leaks of non-critical information without major privacy breaches.
  • Integrity: Low
    Exploiting CVE-2026-36538 may cause minor changes to data without severely impacting its accuracy.
  • Availability: Low
    CVE-2026-36538 may slightly degrade system performance without fully affecting service availability.

CVE-2026-36538 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-798

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Read Sensitive Constants Within an Executable CAPEC-191 An adversary engages in activities to discover any sensitive constants present within the compiled code of an executable. These constants may include literal ASCII strings within the file itself, or possibly strings hard-coded into particular routines that can be revealed by code refactoring methods including static and dynamic analysis.
  • Try Common or Default Usernames and Passwords CAPEC-70 An adversary may try certain common or default usernames and passwords to gain access into the system and perform unauthorized actions. An adversary may try an intelligent brute force using empty passwords, known vendor default credentials, as well as a dictionary of common usernames and passwords. Many vendor products come preconfigured with default (and thus well-known) usernames and passwords that should be deleted prior to usage in a production environment. It is a common mistake to forget to remove these default login credentials. Another problem is that users would pick very simple (common) passwords (e.g. "secret" or "password") that make it easier for the attacker to gain access to the system compared to using a brute force attack or even a dictionary attack using a full dictionary.

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