Gs116e FirmwareOperating system · Netgear

CVE-2020-35233

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-03-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The TFTP server fails to handle multiple connections on NETGEAR JGS516PE/GS116Ev2 v2.6.0.43 devices, and allows external attackers to force device reboots by sending concurrent connections, aka a denial of service attack.

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 · moderate confidence

The TFTP server on NETGEAR JGS516PE and GS116Ev2 switches (firmware v2.6.0.43) contains a race condition or resource exhaustion flaw when handling concurrent connections. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send multiple simultaneous TFTP requests to trigger device reboots, causing denial of service.

MitigationApply available NETGEAR firmware updates for these models; if no update exists, restrict TFTP port access via network segmentation or firewall rules to prevent external attackers from reaching the service.

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
Gs116e FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 2.6.0.43
Jgs516pe FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 2.6.0.43

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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
    Locate the switch model number on the physical device label or in the web management interface under 'System' or 'Status' settings
    Affected if Device is a NETGEAR JGS516PE or GS116Ev2 switch
  2. Check firmware version
    In the switch web interface, navigate to 'Maintenance' > 'Firmware Upgrade' or 'System' > 'Device Information' to view the currently installed firmware version
    Affected if Firmware version is exactly 2.6.0.43
  3. Verify TFTP server status
    In the web management interface, check under 'System' > 'TFTP Server' or 'File Management' > 'TFTP' to see if the TFTP server is enabled
    Affected if TFTP server is enabled on the device
  4. Assess network exposure
    Review firewall rules, VLAN configuration, or ACLs to determine if UDP port 69 (TFTP) is accessible from untrusted or external networks
    Affected if TFTP port 69 is reachable from networks outside the trusted administrative segment

The device is affected if it is a JGS516PE or GS116Ev2 running firmware version 2.6.0.43 with the TFTP server enabled and accessible from an attacker-reachable network segment.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply available NETGEAR firmware updates for these models; if no update exists, restrict TFTP port access via network segmentation or firewall rules to prevent external attackers from reaching the service.

Fix this in Gs116e Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2020-35233 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