# CVE-2023-45209: Information disclosure in Smart Reader

> An unauthenticated attacker can disclose sensitive information via a crafted HTTP request to the web interface of Peplink Smart Reader devices.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Apr 2024
- **Updated:** 4 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-597x-3rj2-4p53

## What is CVE-2023-45209?

CVE-2023-45209 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Peplink Smart Reader, published on 17 Apr 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An information disclosure vulnerability exists in the web interface /cgi-bin/download_config.cgi functionality of Peplink Smart Reader v1.2.0 (in QEMU). A specially crafted HTTP request can lead to a disclosure of sensitive information. An attacker can make an unauthenticated HTTP request to trigger this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-45209?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Peplink Smart Reader Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-45209?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-45209 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-45209 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-45209 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Peplink Smart Reader

- [CVE-2023-39367](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39367/): Command injection in Smart Reader (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2023-45744](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45744/): Missing authorization in Smart Reader (high 8.3)
- [CVE-2023-40146](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-40146/): Privilege escalation in Smart Reader (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2023-43491](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43491/): Information disclosure in Smart Reader (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-45209 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-45209 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Peplink Smart Reader, published on 17 Apr 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-45209 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Peplink Smart Reader. 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-2023-45209/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45209/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-45209
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45209
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-45209

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45209/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.