CVE-2023-25187 [Medium] | Security Vulnerability in Asika Airscale Firmware

An issue was discovered on NOKIA Airscale ASIKA Single RAN devices before 21B. Nokia Single RAN commissioning procedures do not change (factory-time installed) default SSH public/private key values that are specific to a network operator. As a result, the CSP internal BTS network SSH server (disabled by default) continues to apply the default SSH public/private key values. These keys don't give access to BTS, because service user authentication is username/password-based on top of SSH. Nokia factory installed default SSH keys are meant to be changed from operator-specific values during the BTS deployment commissioning phase. However, before the 21B release, BTS commissioning manuals did not provide instructions to change default SSH keys (to BTS operator-specific values). This leads to a possibility for malicious operations staff (inside a CSP network) to attempt MITM exploitation of BTS service user access, during the moments that SSH is enabled for Nokia service personnel to perform troubleshooting activities.

EDB-ID	Source	Kind	Published	Link
51535	exploit_db	edb	2023-06-20	Exploit-DB ↗
—	nvd_ref	exploit_tag		Exploit-DB ↗

EDB-ID

Source

Kind

Published

Link

51535

exploit_db

edb

2023-06-20

Exploit-DB ↗

—

nvd_ref

exploit_tag

Exploit-DB ↗

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-18	0.80%	0.96%	+0.15%
2	2026-06-15	0.16%	0.80%	+0.65%
3	2025-12-25	—	0.16%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-18

0.80%

0.96%

+0.15%

2026-06-15

0.16%

0.80%

+0.65%

2025-12-25

—

0.16%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
6.3	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	0.3	5.9	[email protected]
7.0	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.0	5.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

6.3

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

0.3

5.9

[email protected]

7.0

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.0

5.9

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-25187

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
nokia	asika_airscale_firmware	19b	cpe:2.3:o:nokia:asika_airscale_firmware:19b:::::::*
nokia	asika_airscale_firmware	20a	cpe:2.3:o:nokia:asika_airscale_firmware:20a:::::::*
nokia	asika_airscale_firmware	20b	cpe:2.3:o:nokia:asika_airscale_firmware:20b:::::::*
nokia	asika_airscale_firmware	20c	cpe:2.3:o:nokia:asika_airscale_firmware:20c:::::::*
nokia	asika_airscale_firmware	21a	cpe:2.3:o:nokia:asika_airscale_firmware:21a:::::::*

References for CVE-2023-25187

URL	Tags
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/173055/Nokia-ASIKA-7.13.52-Private-Key-Disclosure.html	Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://Nokia.com	Product
https://www.nokia.com/about-us/security-and-privacy/product-security-advisory/cve-2023-25187/	Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2023-25187

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2023-25187

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-25187

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-25187

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-25187

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-25187

References for CVE-2023-25187