This vulnerability allows attackers with physical access to escalate privileges on affected installations of Arlo Q Plus 1.9.0.3_278. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the SSH service. The device can be booted into a special operation mode where hard-coded credentials are accepted for SSH authentication. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-12890.

References

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-31505
• https://kb.arlo.com/000062592/Security-Advisory-for-Arlo-Q-Plus-SSH-Use-of-Hard-coded-Credentials-Allowing-Privilege-Escalation
• https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-683/