Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAssociate with target WLAN
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DeliveryIdentify social_login.cgi captive portal endpoint
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ExploitSend crafted unauthenticated request to CGI handler
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ExecutionAuthentication check bypassed
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ImpactAccess network resources behind captive portal
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Authentication mechanism validation
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Defense Evasion, Initial Access The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | The captive portal feature with social login must be enabled and actively in use on the WAX650S - this is a non-default configuration that requires administrative setup. The attacker must be physically within Wi-Fi range and able to associate with the target WLAN (i.e., the SSID must be open or the attacker must have the pre-shared key for a password-protected SSID using captive portal for secondary authentication). Exploitation is limited to the adjacent WLAN segment (AV:A) and cannot be triggered remotely over the internet. No authentication to the device or portal is required (PR:N). The attack is entirely passive from a user-interaction standpoint - no victim action is needed once the attacker is on the WLAN. |
| Impact | The CVSS 6.5 (Medium) score reflects real-world severity accurately: AV:A limits the blast radius to the local WLAN segment, ruling out remote internet-facing exploitation. AC:L and PR:N/UI:N indicate that once on the WLAN, bypassing the portal requires no special setup or victim interaction - this is a meaningful risk for any deployment using WAX650S for guest isolation. The C:H impact reflects that a successful bypass grants full network access behind the captive portal, potentially reaching internal VLANs, internet egress policies, or resources intended only for authenticated users. I:N and A:N indicate no direct write or denial-of-service capability from this bug alone. No EPSS data was provided; without KEV listing or published POC, exploitation probability is unconfirmed but the low complexity should be weighed against any real-world captive portal deployment. For organizations using WAX650S as a network boundary control (guest Wi-Fi, compliance-required access control), this should be treated as a high-priority operational risk despite its medium CVSS score, since captive portal bypass directly undermines the primary security control the device is providing. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker associates with the WAX650S-hosted WLAN - for example, a guest network in a hotel or enterprise lobby - and, without entering valid credentials, crafts an HTTP request directly to the social_login.cgi endpoint that satisfies or skips its authentication validation. The captive portal marks the attacker's session as authenticated, granting full network access behind the portal. No public exploit code has been identified, but the AV:A/AC:L/PR:N characteristics indicate exploitation is mechanically straightforward for anyone who analyzes the CGI handler. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Aug 04, 2026
Captive portal authentication bypass in Zyxel WAX650S firmware exposes guest or restricted wireless networks to unauthorized access by any WLAN-adjacent attacker. The flaw resides in the social_login.cgi CGI handler, where CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) allows requests to circumvent captive portal enforcement entirely - not just weaken it. All firmware versions through 7.10(ABRM.4)C0 are confirmed affected per the vendor's own advisory. No public exploit code or CISA KEV listing has been identified at time of analysis, though the low attack complexity makes opportunistic exploitation plausible once the mechanism is understood.
RemediationAI
Consult the Zyxel security advisory at https://www.zyxel.com/global/en/support/security-advisories/zyxel-security-advisory-for-command-injection-and-improper-authentication-vulnerabilities-in-certain-aps-fwa7-and-security-routers-08-04-2026 and apply the firmware update that supersedes 7.10(ABRM.4)C0; a specific patched version number was not independently confirmed from the available input data - verify the exact target version from the advisory before deploying. As a compensating control while patching, organizations should evaluate disabling the social login captive portal variant specifically (if an alternative authentication mode is acceptable), restrict WLAN client isolation so that associated-but-unauthenticated clients cannot communicate laterally on the segment, and monitor for unexpected traffic from unauthenticated WLAN MAC addresses bypassing portal redirect. Note that client isolation may impact legitimate use cases such as printer sharing on guest networks.
Affected VersionsENISA
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The Zyxel WAX650S is a WiFi 6 (802.11ax) enterprise-class access point. The captive portal feature - commonly deployed in guest Wi-Fi, hospitality, and education environments - intercepts unauthenticated WLAN clients and redirects them to a login page. The social_login.cgi CGI program implements the authentication handshake for social login variants of this portal. CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) at this layer typically indicates that the CGI script fails to properly validate authentication state, session tokens, or request integrity, allowing crafted HTTP requests to satisfy or skip the authentication check without valid credentials. The CPE string cpe:2.3:a:zyxel:wax650s_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirms the vulnerability is in the firmware application layer, not hardware. CVSS AV:A scopes exploitation to the adjacent WLAN segment, consistent with the captive portal use case where the attacker is already associated with the wireless network before portal authentication.
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Severity by source
AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Adjacent network vector confirmed; PR:N as captive portal bypass requires no prior credentials; C:H reflects full post-portal network access; no integrity or availability impact from bypass alone.
Primary rating from Vendor (Zyxel).
CVSS VectorVendor: Zyxel
DescriptionCVE.org
An improper authentication vulnerability in the "social_login.cgi" CGI program in Zyxel WAX650S firmware versions through 7.10(ABRM.4)C0 could allow an attacker on the WLAN to bypass captive portal authentication.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
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EUVD-2026-52567
GHSA-hq2r-whw2-gr82
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB