CVE-2026-95731 in Fabric Composer
Summary
by MITRE • 11/03/2026
Hardcoded password vulnerabilities in the command-line interface of HPE Networking Fabric Composer could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to access the affected system using hardcoded credentials. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to gain unauthorized administrative access to the affected system with elevated privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/03/2026
The vulnerability identified involves a critical misconfiguration within the command-line interface (CLI) of HPE Networking Fabric Composer, specifically characterized by the presence of hardcoded passwords. This flaw represents a fundamental failure in secure credential management practices, where sensitive authentication data is embedded directly into the software source code or binary rather than being generated dynamically or stored securely using established cryptographic standards. The existence of such static credentials creates a persistent and exploitable entry point for malicious actors who do not require valid user accounts to interact with the system's administrative functions.
From a technical perspective, this issue aligns closely with CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials, which is widely recognized as one of the most dangerous software weaknesses due to its potential for widespread exploitation and difficulty in remediation once deployed. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to bypass standard authentication mechanisms by utilizing these pre-defined credentials embedded within the application logic. Because the CLI serves as a primary interface for network configuration and management, gaining access through this vector provides direct interaction with core system functionalities that are typically restricted to authorized administrators only.
The operational impact of exploiting this vulnerability is severe, as it enables an attacker to gain unauthorized administrative access with elevated privileges on the affected HPE Networking Fabric Composer instance. This level of access effectively compromises the integrity and confidentiality of the entire network infrastructure managed by the composer. An adversary could manipulate routing tables, alter security policies, exfiltrate sensitive data, or deploy further malware within the enterprise environment. The ability to operate without detection through hardcoded accounts also complicates incident response efforts, as traditional monitoring tools may not flag activity originating from these default credentials unless specifically configured to do so.
In terms of threat modeling and attack patterns, this scenario corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1078: Valid Accounts, where attackers leverage legitimate system or application credentials that have been compromised or hardcoded into the software. The remote nature of the exploit means that no physical access or prior network compromise is necessary, significantly lowering the barrier for entry for opportunistic attackers and automated scanning tools alike. This increases the likelihood of rapid propagation across networks if multiple instances are running with identical default configurations.
To mitigate this risk, immediate action must be taken to remove all hardcoded credentials from the software distribution and replace them with robust authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication or integration with enterprise identity providers like LDAP or Active Directory. For systems already deployed in production environments where an update is not immediately available, it is imperative to change any default passwords if they are configurable via administrative interfaces that do not require elevated privileges for initial setup. Additionally, network segmentation should be enforced to restrict access to the CLI interface only from trusted management networks, and intrusion detection systems should be tuned to alert on login attempts using known default credential strings. Regular security audits and static application security testing (SAST) during the development lifecycle are essential preventive measures to ensure that such vulnerabilities do not persist in future releases of HPE Networking Fabric Composer or similar network management platforms.