CVE-2012-1803

RuggedCom Rugged Operating System < 3.10.1 - Unauthenticated Backdoor Account Access via MAC Address Calculation

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 3 public exploits for CVE-2012-1803. PoCs published by jc, x3roxismygood, including Metasploit module auxiliary/scanner/telnet/telnet_ruggedcom.

AI-analyzed exploit summary The exploit reveals an undocumented backdoor account in RuggedCom's Rugged Operating System (ROS) with a dynamically generated password based on the device's MAC address. The provided Perl script calculates the password, allowing unauthorized access to the 'factory' account.

Description

RuggedCom Rugged Operating System (ROS) 3.10.x and earlier has a factory account with a password derived from the MAC Address field in the banner, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain access by performing a calculation on this address value, and then establishing a (1) TELNET, (2) remote shell (aka rsh), or (3) serial-console session.

Exploits (3)

exploitdb WORKING POC
by jc · textremotehardware
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/18779

The exploit reveals an undocumented backdoor account in RuggedCom's Rugged Operating System (ROS) with a dynamically generated password based on the device's MAC address. The provided Perl script calculates the password, allowing unauthorized access to the 'factory' account.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: RuggedCom Rugged Operating System (ROS) (all versions)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Device MAC address
MITRE ATT&CK
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by x3roxismygood · poc
https://github.com/x3roxismygood/CVE-2012-1803

This PoC demonstrates CVE-2012-1803 by deriving the hidden factory account password from a Siemens RuggedCom ROS device's MAC address, allowing unauthorized administrative access. The script reverses the MAC address, appends padding, and computes a password via modulo operation.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Siemens RuggedCom ROS 3.10.x and earlier
No auth needed
Prerequisites: device MAC address
devstral-2 · analyzed May 26, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC
rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/scanner/telnet/telnet_ruggedcom.rb

This Metasploit module exploits a hardcoded backdoor account in RuggedCom ROS by generating a password derived from the device's MAC address. It connects via Telnet, extracts the MAC from the banner, and calculates the password for the 'factory' user.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: RuggedCom Rugged Operating System (ROS)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Telnet service exposed on port 23 · Device running RuggedCom ROS
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (12)

Core 12
Core References
Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/04/ruggedcom-backdoor/
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/18779
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_xf
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/75120
Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource third-party-advisory x_refsource_cert-vn
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/889195
Broken Link mailing-list x_refsource_bugtraq
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2012-04/0186.html
Broken Link, Vendor Advisory x_refsource_confirm
http://www.ruggedcom.com/productbulletin/ros-security-page/
Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource x_refsource_misc
http://www.us-cert.gov/control_systems/pdf/ICS-ALERT-12-116-01A.pdf
Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource x_refsource_confirm
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/MAPG-8RCPEN
Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_fulldisc
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2012/Apr/277
Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource x_refsource_misc
http://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-12-146-01A
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/53215

Scores

EPSS 0.4911
EPSS Percentile 98.7%

Details

CWE
CWE-310
Status published
Products (1)
siemens/ruggedcom_rugged_operating_system 3.2.0 - 3.10.1
Published Apr 28, 2012
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026