CVE-2017-7921
CVE-2017-7921 is a security flaw in Hikvision products, security cameras and video recorders. Someone who already has a foothold can use Hikvision products to take full control of the machine. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 5 Mar 2026.[1]
Hikvision products is in things households have: security cameras and video recorders, so the fix matters at home as much as at work. Hikvision has published a fix or advice.
Description
CISA calls it an improper authentication in Hikvision Multiple Products. In its words: “Multiple Hikvision products contain an improper authentication vulnerability that could allow a malicious user to escalate privileges on the system and gain access to sensitive information.”[1]
The CVE record adds: “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.”[2]
The underlying weakness is improper authentication (CWE-287), in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.
It scores 9.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it critical, scored by NVD using CVSS 3.1.[2]
Affected versions
NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it; Hikvision’s advisory has them[3]. CISA names the product as Hikvision Multiple Products.
Every device with Hikvision products needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 5 Mar 2026, 3,225 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 26 Mar 2026 to fix it.[1]
FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at over 99%. That’s in the top 1% of the flaws it scores.[4]
CISA assesses it as automatable: attackers can run it against many targets at once.
CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.
Fix
Hikvision has published a fix or advice.[3] CISA’s required action: “Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.”[1]
- Update Hikvision products now.Install the latest update from Hikvision on every device that has it, and restart when asked. Then turn on automatic updates, so the next fix arrives on its own.
- If the maker has stopped updating it, replace it.Cameras stop getting fixes after a few years, and attackers keep a list of the ones that did. If there’s no newer firmware, it won’t be fixed.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 9.8.[2] | |
| CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks.[1] | |
| CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1] | |
| FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at over 99%.[4] |
See also
Other Hikvision flaws
- CVE-2021-36260, Hikvision Security cameras web server: improper input validation ·
Other improper authentication flaws
- CVE-2026-105133, AhsayCBS: improper authentication ·
- CVE-2026-42018, JFrog Artifactory: improper authentication ·
- CVE-2026-82329, JFrog Artifactory: improper authentication ·
- CVE-2026-59822, BerriAI LiteLLM: improper authentication ·
- CVE-2023-49105, ownCloud: improper authentication ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2023-43000, Apple devices: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2023-41974, Apple iOS and iPadOS: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2021-30952, Apple devices: integer overflow or wraparound ·
- CVE-2021-22681, Rockwell products: insufficient protected credentials ·
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Hikvision Multiple Products Improper Authentication Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 5 Mar 2026.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2017-7921 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 6 May 2017.
- ^ Hikvision. Advisories and fixes: hikvision.com.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 1.000, percentile 100.0, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2017-7921”. The official CVE record.
This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.