CVE-2020-8657: EyesOfNetwork Use of Hard-Coded Credentials Vulnerability

CVE-2020-8657 is a hard-coded credentials weakness in EyesOfNetwork. The product ships with the same default API key, which lets an attacker calculate or guess an admin access token. For teams running this monitoring platform, that means an unauthenticated or low-privilege path to administrative control if the default is left unchanged. Confirm exact affected releases and fixed builds against the vendor advisory.

CISA lists the required action as applying updates per vendor instructions. Public detail does not document ransomware use of this CVE, but any path to admin tokens on a network-management system is high impact and should be treated as urgent.

How it works

This issue is classified as CWE-798: Use of Hard-Coded Credentials. EyesOfNetwork uses a shared default API key. Because the key is predictable rather than unique per installation, an attacker who knows or can derive the default can compute or guess a valid admin access token.

Once that token is obtained, the attacker can impersonate an administrator through the product’s API or management interfaces. The precise request format, endpoints, and any additional checks are not detailed in the provided facts; defenders should treat any default or static credential material as fully compromised until rotated and confirmed against the vendor advisory.

Am I affected? How to find it in your systems

EyesOfNetwork is typically deployed as a network and infrastructure monitoring appliance or server, often on internal management networks or in data-center segments that have broad visibility into other systems. Inventory every host or virtual machine running EyesOfNetwork software, including lab, DR, and forgotten instances.

• Search configuration management, asset inventories, and package databases for EyesOfNetwork installations.
• Review the product’s own version and configuration screens, and any API-key or authentication settings, for the presence of factory defaults.
• Confirm the exact version string and whether the default API key is still active by comparing against the vendor advisory; do not rely on assumed version ranges.
• Check authentication and API access logs for unexpected use of administrative tokens, especially from unusual source addresses or at odd hours. Look for successful admin-level API calls that lack a corresponding interactive login by a known administrator.

If logs are sparse, enable detailed API and authentication auditing immediately so future activity is visible.

How to remediate

Patch first. Apply the updates supplied by the vendor exactly as described in their advisory and in the CISA-required action. After upgrading, verify that the hard-coded or default API key is no longer accepted and that each installation has a unique, strong credential.

• Rotate every API key, admin token, and related secret that may have been derived from the default.
• Force regeneration of administrative access tokens and revoke any previously issued ones.
• Restrict management and API interfaces to dedicated management networks or jump hosts; remove direct exposure from user or general server VLANs.
• Enforce least-privilege accounts for day-to-day monitoring so that compromise of a single token does not grant full admin rights.
• Re-validate the configuration after the change window to ensure defaults were not reintroduced by backup restore or cloning.

If you can't patch immediately

Until the vendor update can be applied, reduce the attack surface and increase detection.

• Segment the EyesOfNetwork host so that only authorized management stations can reach its API and web ports; block all other sources at the firewall or host firewall.
• If the product allows, disable or tightly restrict the API features that accept the default key until a unique key is configured.
• Place a reverse proxy or WAF in front of the management interface and deny requests that present known default credential patterns, while logging all admin-token usage.
• Increase monitoring: alert on any successful administrative API call, token issuance, or configuration change, and forward those logs to a SIEM with short retention-to-alert latency.
• Temporarily remove or disable unused administrator accounts and require multi-factor authentication for any remaining interactive admin access if the product supports it.

These steps only buy time; they do not replace the vendor patch and credential rotation.

If your data may have been exposed

Actively exploited authentication weaknesses on management platforms frequently lead to broader network compromise and data exposure. If you have evidence of token misuse or cannot rule out exploitation, treat the EyesOfNetwork host and any systems it can reach as potentially compromised: isolate, collect forensic images, rotate credentials across the estate, and follow your incident-response plan. As an additional check, you can run a free exposure scan of your email addresses against known breach data to see whether associated credentials have appeared in prior incidents.