MikroTik RouterOS through 6.42 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files and remote authenticated attackers to write a
MikroTik RouterOS through 6.42 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files and remote authenticated attackers to write arbitrary files due to a directory traversal vulnerability in the WinBox interface.
- Published
- Aug 2, 2018
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 96.1% · 100th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-22
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Report tools
Action score
95
Now
Patch today or shut off access.
- CVSS
- 36 / 40 · 9.1 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 30 / 30 · Listed
- EPSS
- 29 / 30 · 96.1%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- active
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
Actively exploited in the wild
CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Dec 1, 2021. That signals real attacks, not theory.
Remediation deadline for government agencies: Jun 1, 2022.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| mikrotik | routeros | cpe:2.3:o:mikrotik:routeros |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- mikrotik routerosup to 6.42 inclusive
Same product
mikrotik: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2018-7445A buffer overflow was found in the MikroTik RouterOS SMB service when processing NetBIOS session request messages.KEV87Now
- CVE-2026-86060SSH session privilege manipulation via a crafted username in Mikrotik RouterOSKEV67This week
- CVE-2026-67277Kernel memory disclosure and denial of service in MikroTik RouterOS btest serviceKEV65This week
- CVE-2026-67279SSH Pre-Authentication Rekey State Bypass in MikroTik RouterOSKEV57Plan
- CVE-2017-20149The Mikrotik RouterOS web server allows memory corruption in releases before Stable 6.38.5 and Long-term 6.37.5, aka Chimay-Red.40Plan
- CVE-2022-45315Mikrotik RouterOs before stable v7.6 was discovered to contain an out-of-bounds read in the snmp process.39Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
Weaponized
A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.
Evidence
- Metasploit module ×1
- Exploit-DB entry ×1
- Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×15
Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.
| Source | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit-DB entry | remote | 2018-10-10 |
| Metasploit module | auxiliary/gather/mikrotik_winbox_filereadMikrotik Winbox Arbitrary File Readauxiliary | 2018-08-02 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:519 | 2018-06-24 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:7 | 2018-09-11 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:15 | 2018-10-13 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:30 | 2018-12-15 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:6 | 2019-05-26 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:1 | 2019-09-25 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:21 | 2019-09-29 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:1 | 2020-04-29 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:55 | 2021-04-21 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:4 | 2022-10-31 |
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
- First PoC-39 d
- Metasploitsame day
- Published
- CISA KEV+1217 d
- TodaySep 30, 2026+2982 d
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- none
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
nvd-primary
Root cause
A user-supplied file name is joined with the allowed directory, but the result is never checked to confirm it is still inside that directory.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-22 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
const file = path.join(ROOT, req.query.name);res.sendFile(file);Fixed
const file = path.resolve(ROOT, req.query.name);if (!file.startsWith(ROOT + path.sep)) { return res.sendStatus(400);}res.sendFile(file);Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Path TraversalCAPEC-126likelihood: High · Very High
- Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation LogicCAPEC-64likelihood: High · High
- Manipulating Web Input to File System CallsCAPEC-76likelihood: High · Very High
- Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate EncodingCAPEC-78likelihood: High · High
- Using Slashes in Alternate EncodingCAPEC-79likelihood: High · High
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
- mikrotik.com/supportsec/winbox-vulnerability
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-14847
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.