# CVE-2023-38909: Weak cryptography in n/a

> Remote attackers can obtain sensitive information from TP-Link smart bulbs and the Tapo app due to weak IV handling in AES128-CBC encryption.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Aug 2023
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-22hp-9244-wch3

## What is CVE-2023-38909?

CVE-2023-38909 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Aug 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue in TPLink Smart Bulb Tapo series L530 before 1.2.4, L510E before 1.1.0, L630 before 1.0.4, P100 before 1.5.0, and Tapo Application 2.8.14 allows a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information via the IV component in the AES128-CBC function.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-38909?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Tp-Link Tapo, Tp-Link Tapo L530e Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-38909?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-38909 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-38909 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-38909 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2023-27098](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-27098/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2023-38907](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38907/): Other in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2023-34829](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-34829/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-38908](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38908/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-38906](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38906/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-38909 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-38909 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Aug 2023. 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-2023-38909 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2023-38909/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38909/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38909
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38909
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-38909

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38909/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.