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Wac505 FirmwareOperating system · Netgear

CVE-2018-21131

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.0.17 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by unauthenticated firmware downgrade. This affects WAC505 before 5.0.0.17 and WAC510 before 5.0.0.17.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Unauthenticated firmware downgrade vulnerability in NETGEAR WAC505 and WAC510 wireless access points allows remote attackers to potentially downgrade firmware to older, vulnerable versions without any authentication. This affects versions before 5.0.0.17, enabling attackers to revert devices to known-vulnerable firmware states.

MitigationUpgrade NETGEAR WAC505 and WAC510 firmware to version 5.0.0.17 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If downgrading is observed, investigate for potential compromise.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Wac505 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 5.0.0.17
Wac510 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 5.0.0.17

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify device model and current firmware version
    Access the NETGEAR WAC505 or WAC510 web management interface and navigate to the Administration or Firmware Upgrade section to view the currently installed firmware version. Alternatively, use the command-line interface (SSH) and run 'show version' or similar command to retrieve firmware information.
    Affected if The device is a NETGEAR WAC505 or WAC510 running firmware version lower than 5.0.0.17
  2. Verify firmware version against affected range
    Compare the installed firmware version you retrieved in the previous step to the affected versions. Versions below 5.0.0.17 are vulnerable to this CVE.
    Affected if The installed firmware version is less than 5.0.0.17 for either the WAC505 or WAC510 model
  3. Check device management interface exposure
    Review the network configuration to determine if the WAC505 or WAC510 management interface (web UI or SSH) is accessible from untrusted or external networks. Check firewall rules, VLAN configuration, and access control lists.
    Affected if The management interface is exposed to untrusted networks without proper access controls, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to potentially trigger a firmware downgrade
  4. Review logs for unexpected firmware changes
    Examine the device system logs or management logs for any entries indicating firmware version changes, especially if the current version is lower than a previously observed version or if there are downgrade events.
    Affected if Logs show the firmware was downgraded or reverted to a version lower than 5.0.0.17, indicating potential exploitation of this vulnerability

The environment is affected if any NETGEAR WAC505 or WAC510 device is running firmware version lower than 5.0.0.17, particularly if the management interface is exposed to untrusted networks.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.0.0.17 or later
Fixed in 5.0.0.17
Interim mitigation

Upgrade NETGEAR WAC505 and WAC510 firmware to version 5.0.0.17 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If downgrading is observed, investigate for potential compromise.

Recommended fix High confidence

WAC505/WAC510 Firmware 5.0.0.17 or later

  1. Access the NETGEAR WAC505 or WAC510 web management interface
  2. Navigate to the Firmware Update section (typically under Administration or Maintenance)
  3. Identify the current firmware version to confirm it is below 5.0.0.17
  4. Download firmware version 5.0.0.17 or later from the official NETGEAR support website (kb.netgear.com)
  5. Upload the firmware file through the web interface or use the manual firmware update option
  6. Wait for the firmware upload and installation to complete - do not power off the device during this process
  7. After the device reboots, verify the firmware version has been updated to 5.0.0.17 or later

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Wac505 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-21131 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data