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R6400 FirmwareOperating system · Netgear

CVE-2021-38520

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.1.52 / 1.0.4.84 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 command injection by an authenticated user. This affects R6400 before 1.0.1.52, R6400v2 before 1.0.4.84, R6700v3 before 1.0.4.84, R6700v2 before 1.2.0.62, R6900v2 before 1.2.0.62, and R7000P before 1.3.2.124.

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

Authenticated command injection vulnerability in NETGEAR router firmware. An authenticated attacker can execute arbitrary commands through the web management interface by injecting OS commands into input fields, affecting multiple router models (R6400, R6400v2, R6700v3, R6700v2, R6900v2, R7000P).

MitigationUpdate router firmware to the latest version: R6400 to 1.0.1.52+, R6400v2/R6700v3 to 1.0.4.84+, R6700v2/R6900v2 to 1.2.0.62+, and R7000P to 1.3.2.124+. Restrict web management access to trusted networks.

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
R6400 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.1.52< 1.0.4.84
R6700 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.2.0.62< 1.0.4.84
R6900 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.2.0.62
R7000p FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.3.2.124

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 your router model
    Locate the model number on a physical sticker on the router or log into the web management interface and check the status or device info page
    Affected if The model is one of: R6400, R6700, R6900, or R7000P (or their v2/v3 variants)
  2. Check the installed firmware version
    Log into the web management interface (typically at 192.168.1.1) and navigate to the Administration > Firmware Update or Router Status page to view the current firmware version
    Affected if The firmware version is lower than the affected thresholds for your model (R6400: <1.0.1.52 or <1.0.4.84; R6700: <1.2.0.62 or <1.0.4.84; R6900: <1.2.0.62; R7000P: <1.3.2.124)
  3. Verify web management interface accessibility
    Confirm the web management interface is reachable by entering the router IP in a browser. Check if it responds on ports 80 or 443
    Affected if The web management interface is accessible from untrusted networks (not just local LAN)
  4. Check if remote management is enabled
    In the web UI, go to Advanced > Administration > Remote Management and verify whether remote access is enabled
    Affected if Remote management is enabled and accessible from the internet

Your router is affected if it is one of the listed models AND its firmware version is below the specified thresholds AND an attacker can reach the web management interface with valid credentials.

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 1.0.1.52 / 1.0.4.84 / 1.2.0.62 or later
Fixed in 1.0.1.521.0.4.841.2.0.62
Interim mitigation

Update router firmware to the latest version: R6400 to 1.0.1.52+, R6400v2/R6700v3 to 1.0.4.84+, R6700v2/R6900v2 to 1.2.0.62+, and R7000P to 1.3.2.124+. Restrict web management access to trusted networks.

Recommended fix High confidence

R6400: upgrade to 1.0.1.52 (v1) or 1.0.4.84 (v2); R6700v2: 1.2.0.62; R6700v3: 1.0.4.84; R6900v2: 1.2.0.62; R7000P: 1.3.2.124

  1. 1. Identify the exact NETGEAR router model (R6400, R6400v2, R6700v2, R6700v3, R6900v2, or R7000P) from the device label
  2. 2. Visit the NETGEAR support download page at kb.netgear.com and enter the model number
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed firmware version for your specific model variant (R6400: 1.0.1.52 for v1 or 1.0.4.84 for v2; R6700v2: 1.2.0.62; R6700v3: 1.0.4.84; R6900v2: 1.2.0.62; R7000P: 1.3.2.124)
  4. 4. Access the router's web interface by navigating to routerlogin.net or 192.168.1.1
  5. 5. Log in with admin credentials
  6. 6. Navigate to Advanced > Administration > Firmware Update > Manual Update
  7. 7. Click Browse/Choose File and select the downloaded firmware file
  8. 8. Click Upload to begin the firmware update - do not power off the router during this process
Caveat Firmware updates may reset some custom configurations; backup router settings before upgrading if possible

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

Fix this in R6400 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2021-38520 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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