CVE-2026-42376
CRITICALD-Link DIR-456U A1 Hardcoded Telnet Backdoor Credentials
Title source: cnaDescription
D-Link DIR-456U Hardware Revision A1 (End-of-Life, EOL) contains a hardcoded telnet backdoor. The device starts a telnet daemon at boot via /etc/init0.d/S80telnetd.sh with the username "Alphanetworks" and the static password "whdrv01_dlob_dir456U" read from /etc/config/image_sign. The custom telnetd binary accepts a -u user:password flag, and the custom login binary uses strcmp() to validate credentials. Successful authentication grants an unauthenticated attacker on the local network a root shell with full administrative control. The device has reached End-of-Life (EOL) and will not receive patches.
References (1)
Core 1
Core References
D-Link DIR-456U A1 Hardcoded Telnet Backdoor - Securin Advisory
https://www.securin.io/zero-day/cve-2026-42376-hardcoded-telnet-backdoor-in-d-link-dir-456u-a1-end-of-life-
Scores
CVSS v3
9.8
EPSS
0.0022
EPSS Percentile
44.7%
Attack Vector
NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CISA SSVC
Vulnrichment
Exploitation
poc
Automatable
yes
Technical Impact
total
Details
CWE
CWE-798
Status
published
Products (2)
D-Link/DIR-456U Firmware
A1
dlink/dir-456u_firmware
Published
May 04, 2026
Tracked Since
May 04, 2026