CVE-2021-27272
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary files on affected installations of NETGEAR ProSAFE Network Management System 1.6.0.26. Although authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability, the existing authentication mechanism can be bypassed. The specific flaw exists within the ReportTemplateController class. When parsing the path parameter, the process does not properly validate a user-supplied path prior to using it in file operations. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to create a denial-of-service condition on the system. Was ZDI-CAN-12123.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability in NETGEAR ProSAFE NMS 1.6.0.26 allows authenticated attackers (or those bypassing authentication) to delete arbitrary files via the ReportTemplateController class. The path parameter is not validated before file operations, enabling path traversal that leads to denial of 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= 1.6.0.26CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify NETGEAR ProSAFE NMS installationLocate the NMS installation directory or check running services for 'NMS', 'ProSAFE', or 'Network Management System' processesAffected if The software is installed and running
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Determine installed versionCheck the application version via its web interface, about page, or version file in the installation directoryAffected if Version is exactly 1.6.0.26
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Verify ReportTemplateController availabilityCheck if the web application's ReportTemplateController endpoint is accessible (typically at /ReportTemplate/ or similar path-based endpoint handling report templates)Affected if The endpoint is exposed and reachable via HTTP/HTTPS
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Confirm authentication statusTest access to the vulnerable endpoint with valid credentials, or verify if authentication bypass is possibleAffected if Valid credentials exist for the NMS admin panel or the authentication bypass is present
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Check file operation accessibilityAttempt a benign file operation request to the ReportTemplateController to verify path traversal is functionalAffected if File operations via the vulnerable parameter execute without proper path validation
A system is affected if NETGEAR ProSAFE NMS version 1.6.0.26 is installed and the ReportTemplateController with its vulnerable path parameter is accessible with valid credentials or via authentication bypass.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply vendor patch immediately; implement strict path validation and whitelisting for file operations; review and fix the authentication bypass mechanism.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-27272 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-27272 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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