Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-5635 affects the Hickory Smart Ethernet Bridge used with Hickory smart locks. The bridge sends MQTT authentication details over the local network without encryption, exposing a default username and password to someone able to capture that traffic. This is mainly a confidentiality and local-network exposure issue, not confirmed remote internet exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted IoT exposure issue. It is not a broad internet-scale emergency, but devices on mixed or poorly segmented networks could leak credentials. Prioritize inventory, segmentation, and vendor-supported remediation decisions.
Technical view
The affected device is Belwith Products Hickory Smart Ethernet Bridge model H077646. Rapid7 and CVE describe cleartext MQTT broker communication that reveals default broker credentials. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, changed scope, high confidentiality impact, and no integrity or availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where H077646 bridges share a LAN or Wi-Fi segment with untrusted users, guests, compromised devices, or monitoring points. The sources do not identify firmware versions, and the firmware reportedly lacks versioning information.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as KEV, and the provided sources do not state active exploitation. An attacker would need local network access or equivalent traffic visibility to observe cleartext MQTT authentication data.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to model H077646 with unspecified firmware. The vulnerability centers on CWE-319 cleartext transmission of MQTT broker credentials. No source in the bundle names a patch, fixed version, or active exploitation.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Hickory Smart Ethernet Bridge model H077646 deployments.
- Place bridge devices on a restricted trusted network segment.
- Block untrusted LAN, guest Wi-Fi, and internet access to bridge traffic.
- Check Belwith or Hickory guidance for supported fixes or replacement options.
- Consider decommissioning or replacing devices if no supported remediation exists.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether H077646 bridges are present in the environment.
- Review network segmentation around bridges and MQTT broker paths.
- In an authorized test, verify whether MQTT authentication is encrypted.
- Check whether guest or unmanaged devices can observe bridge network traffic.
- Document firmware identification limitations because versions are unspecified.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-319: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-5635 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N24Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://blog.rapid7.com/2019/08/01/r7-2019-18-multiple-hickory-smart-lock-vulnerabilities/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://hickoryhardware.com/products/hickory-smart-ethernet-bridge?variant=20882150228086CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information
Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.