CVE Alert: CVE-2025-11296 – Belkin – F9K1015

Risk verdict

High risk: remote, no-user-interaction code execution with a public exploit present; devices exposed to the internet should be treated as a priority until patched.

Why this matters

Compromise of Belkin F9K1015 could give an attacker full control of the router, enabling traffic interception, modification of DNS or VPN settings, and potential lateral movement into the LAN. The exposed PPTP pathway is inherently insecure, amplifying risk for connected hosts and any connected business services.

Most likely attack path

Attacker requires network access to the device and does not need user interaction (AV:N, UI:N, PR:L, AC:L). A crafted request to /goform/formPPTPSetup likely triggers a buffer overflow leading to memory corruption and remote code execution (C/H/I/A error states). Post-exploitation, attacker could persist access on the gateway and pivot to internal hosts or alter traffic routes.

Who is most exposed

Primarily home and small-office routers running this Belkin model, especially those with WAN-facing management interfaces or PPTP-related services enabled or exposed to the internet.

Detection ideas

• Unusual or malformed requests to /goform/formPPTPSetup, notably pptpUserName values.
• Router reboots or crash dumps consistent with memory corruption.
• Unusual VPN/PPTP configuration changes from unauthorised sources.
• Signs of new or unknown processes/services on the device.
• PoC traffic patterns or indicators from related CTI signatures.

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Apply vendor patch once available; verify checksums and integrity on update.
• If patching is delayed, disable remote management/PPTP services and restrict admin access to trusted networks.
• Implement network segmentation and firewall rules to isolate the router from critical hosts.
• Monitor for abnormal router behaviour and traffic anomalies; enable logging of PPTP-related events.
• If KEV true or EPSS ≥ 0.5, treat as priority 1.