CVE-2017-7921Hikvision Multiple Products Improper Authentication Vulnerability
CVE-2017-7921 is a improper authentication in Hikvision Cameras, rated critical (9.8 on CVSS 3.1).
Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Analyzed
What it is
The software does not prove who a caller is, so an attacker can pass as someone else.
How it is reached
An attacker can exploit it over the network, without an account, and nobody has to click anything.
What an attacker gains
A successful attack can read the data it protects, change data or behaviour and take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker act as a signed-in user, or an administrator, without valid credentials.
Is it being exploited?
CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-03-05: it is being exploited in the wild. It can be exploited automatically, at scale. EPSS estimates a 100% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 100% of scored CVEs.
What to do
- Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2026-03-26.
- Apply the fix for Hikvision Cameras: the patch and release notes are linked below.
- Until it is patched, keep it off the internet or behind a VPN, allowlist or authenticating proxy.
- Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.
Description from NVD
An Improper Authentication issue was discovered in Hikvision DS-2CD2xx2F-I Series V5.2.0 build 140721 to V5.4.0 build 160530, DS-2CD2xx0F-I Series V5.2.0 build 140721 to V5.4.0 Build 160401, DS-2CD2xx2FWD Series V5.3.1 build 150410 to V5.4.4 Build 161125, DS-2CD4x2xFWD Series V5.2.0 build 140721 to V5.4.0 Build 160414, DS-2CD4xx5 Series V5.2.0 build 140721 to V5.4.0 Build 160421, DS-2DFx Series V5.2.0 build 140805 to V5.4.5 Build 160928, and DS-2CD63xx Series V5.0.9 build 140305 to V5.3.5 Build 160106 devices. The improper authentication vulnerability occurs when an application does not adequately or correctly authenticate users. This may allow a malicious user to escalate his or her privileges on the system and gain access to sensitive information.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- Network edge devices: VPNs, firewalls, routers and gateways. They sit between the internet and internal networks, so a flaw in one is often the first step into everything behind it.
- Operating systems on servers, workstations or devices. Everything on the host inherits the flaw.
- Sign-in, session and token handling. The flaw sits between anonymous callers and authenticated sessions.
- Identity providers and SSO. The flaw sits between anonymous callers and authenticated sessions.
Trust boundaries in play
- Internet-facing entry points. No account is needed. Any instance reachable from outside your perimeter, through a load balancer, gateway, VPN or exposed admin port, is in scope.
- Between anonymous callers and authenticated sessions. An attacker who crosses it can act as a signed-in user, or an administrator, without valid credentials.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does Hikvision Cameras run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which of those instances can be reached from the internet or partner networks?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Read more
Patches and commits
Advisories
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/98313
- ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-17-124-01
- www.hikvision.com/cn/support/CybersecurityCenter/SecurityNotices/20170314/
- www.hikvision.com/en/support/cybersecurity/security-advisory/security-notification--privilege-escalating-vulnerability-in-cer/
- www.hikvision.com/us-en/support/document-center/special-notices/privilege-escalating-vulnerability-in-certain-hikvision-ip-cameras/
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-7921
More reading
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.