Is CVE-2026-36738 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-36738 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2026-36738?

Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.8, published 13 May 2026.

Which products and versions are affected?

U-SPEED AC1200 Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (T18-21K) 1.0.

Is there a fix for CVE-2026-36738?

No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

How is CVE-2026-36738 attacked?

It is attacked with physical access, in a network appliance.

Am I affected by CVE-2026-36738?

Check whether you run U-SPEED AC1200 Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (T18-21K), U-SPEED AC1200 Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (T18-21K) (V1.0), U-SPEED T18-21k or one of the others listed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

CVE-2026-36738: U-SPEED AC1200 Router unauthenticated UART interface access

CVE-2026-36738 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.8 · Published 2026-05-13

The U-SPEED AC1200 Wi-Fi router contains a security flaw where its internal hardware communication port is left unprotected. An individual with physical access to the device can bypass all security measures by connecting directly to the internal circuit board. This allows for complete control over the router, including the ability to steal passwords, modify settings, or install malicious software.

Vendors: U-SPEED.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-36738 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-36738 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-36738?: Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.8, published 13 May 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?: U-SPEED AC1200 Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (T18-21K) 1.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-36738?: No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
How is CVE-2026-36738 attacked?: It is attacked with physical access, in a network appliance.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-36738?: Check whether you run U-SPEED AC1200 Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (T18-21K), U-SPEED AC1200 Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (T18-21K) (V1.0), U-SPEED T18-21k or one of the others listed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

Technical details

The U-SPEED AC1200 (T18-21K) router exposes a Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter (UART) interface on its internal PCB that lacks any authentication or authorization mechanisms. An attacker with physical access to the device can open the enclosure and use a USB-to-UART adapter to interface with the hardware. This provides direct, unauthenticated access to the system console, bootloader, and operating system shell. From this position, an attacker can extract configuration files, modify firmware, or execute arbitrary commands with root-level privileges. No software-based fix is currently noted, though hardware-level mitigations like disabling the port or requiring console passwords are recommended.

Affected products

U-SPEED AC1200 Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (T18-21K) 1.0

Timeline

2026-05-13: disclosed: Initial disclosure via MITRE and NVD
2026-05-13: advisory

References

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