CVE-2026-47097 in HELO Plus
Summary
by MITRE • 09/30/2026
AJA HELO Plus firmware before 2.1.7 contains an information disclosure vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to decrypt sensitive diagnostics bundles by exploiting a static AES passphrase embedded in obfuscated form within the firmware. Attackers can reverse engineer the publicly available firmware image to recover the shared passphrase and decrypt diagnostics export bundles retrieved from the unauthenticated diagnostics endpoint on any affected device, exposing highly sensitive server information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/30/2026
The vulnerability identified in AJA HELO Plus firmware versions prior to 2.1.7 represents a critical failure in cryptographic key management that leads to severe information disclosure. This flaw stems from the implementation of an Advanced Encryption Standard AES passphrase used to secure diagnostics export bundles, which are sensitive data packages containing detailed operational metrics and server configurations. Instead of generating unique or dynamically derived keys for each session or device instance, the firmware utilizes a static shared secret embedded directly within the binary code. Furthermore this embedding is not protected by robust obfuscation techniques but rather relies on simple encoding that can be easily reversed through standard reverse engineering tools available to any attacker with access to the public firmware image. This architectural decision fundamentally undermines the confidentiality guarantees provided by encryption, as the security of the system becomes dependent entirely on the secrecy of a single hardcoded string rather than complex key exchange protocols or hardware-backed secure enclaves.
From an operational perspective this vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to retrieve sensitive diagnostics bundles from the device via its network interface and subsequently decrypt them without any form of authentication or authorization. The process involves downloading the encrypted bundle through the exposed diagnostics endpoint and then applying the recovered static passphrase obtained by analyzing the firmware binary. Once decrypted, these bundles reveal highly confidential server information including potentially internal IP addresses hardware serial numbers software version details and other telemetry data that could be leveraged for further reconnaissance attacks. This exposure not only violates privacy expectations but also provides adversaries with a detailed map of the target environment facilitating more sophisticated subsequent exploits such as targeted phishing social engineering or direct exploitation of known vulnerabilities in specific firmware versions identified within the diagnostics output.
In terms of industry standard classifications this vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-798 Use of Hard-coded Credentials and CWE-203 Observable Response Discrepancy which often accompanies information disclosure flaws where sensitive data is exposed due to weak access controls or cryptographic failures. Additionally it relates to ATT&CK technique T1505 Server Software Component as the diagnostics endpoint serves as a mechanism for storing and retrieving maliciously accessible data while also reflecting aspects of T1608 Install Defacement which although not applicable here in terms of modification highlights how firmware components can be manipulated or analyzed by attackers. The static nature of the key means that once compromised it affects all devices running the vulnerable version simultaneously creating a widespread risk across any deployment infrastructure utilizing this hardware model.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate remediation through vendor-provided updates to version 2.1.7 or later where the cryptographic architecture has been revised to eliminate hardcoded secrets and implement proper key management practices such as per-device unique keys derived from secure boot processes or hardware security modules if available. Until patches are applied organizations should restrict network access to the diagnostics endpoint using firewall rules or VLAN segmentation to limit exposure to trusted administrative networks only. It is also advisable to audit other firmware images for similar patterns of embedded credentials and ensure that future development cycles include static analysis tools capable of detecting hard-coded secrets during code review phases. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted on networked devices to identify such misconfigurations before they can be exploited in production environments ensuring a robust defense-in-depth posture against information disclosure threats.