# CVE-2020-5721: Hardcoded credentials in MikroTik WinBox

> Attackers with local file access can extract cleartext credentials from WinBox configuration files to gain unauthorized router access.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Apr 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gqqr-qcv3-9xg2

## What is CVE-2020-5721?

CVE-2020-5721 is a medium-severity vulnerability in MikroTik WinBox, published on 15 Apr 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

MikroTik WinBox 3.22 and below stores the user's cleartext password in the settings.cfg.viw configuration file when the Keep Password field is set and no Master Password is set. Keep Password is set by default and, by default Master Password is not set. An attacker with access to the configuration file can extract a username and password to gain access to the router.

Weakness: CWE-522 (Insufficiently Protected Credentials), CWE-260 (Password in Configuration File)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-5721?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mikrotik Winbox.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-5721?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-5721 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-5721 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5721 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in MikroTik WinBox

- [CVE-2020-5720](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5720/): Path traversal in MikroTik WinBox (medium 5.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-5721 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-5721 is a medium-severity vulnerability in MikroTik WinBox, published on 15 Apr 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5721 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: MikroTik WinBox. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5721/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5721/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-5721
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5721
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-5721

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5721/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.