CVE-2021-38522
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 · uneditedNETGEAR R6400 devices before 1.0.1.52 are affected by a stack-based buffer overflow by an authenticated user.
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 confidenceNETGEAR R6400 routers before firmware version 1.0.1.52 contain a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability that can be exploited by an authenticated attacker. The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking on user input, allowing a remote authenticated user to overflow a fixed-size buffer on the stack and potentially achieve code execution with elevated privileges.
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< 1.0.1.52CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm device model is NETGEAR R6400Access the router web interface and navigate to the Administration > Router Status page, or check the product label on the device itselfAffected if Device is not a NETGEAR R6400 router
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Check installed firmware versionIn the router web interface, go to Administration > Router Status and locate the Firmware Version field. Alternatively, log into the router CLI and run 'nvram get firmware_version' or check via telnet if enabledAffected if Firmware version is lower than 1.0.1.52 (e.g., 1.0.1.48, 1.0.0.94, etc.)
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Verify if remote management is enabledIn the router web interface, go to Advanced > Remote Management and check if Enable Remote Management is checked. Also check which IP addresses are allowed under Remote Management Access PortAffected if Remote management is enabled and accessible from untrusted networks (0.0.0.0 or broad ranges)
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Check authentication exposureIn the router web interface under Administration > Router Status or Account Settings, verify whether default admin credentials are still in use or if weak/simple passwords are configuredAffected if Default credentials (admin/password) or weak credentials are in use, allowing authenticated attacker access
A NETGEAR R6400 router is affected if it runs firmware version below 1.0.1.52 AND has remote management exposed or uses default/weak credentials enabling authenticated attacker access.
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.
dbcve · scoped1.0.1.52
Update NETGEAR R6400 firmware to version 1.0.1.52 or later to remediate the vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to the router's management interface to trusted networks or IP addresses.
R6400 firmware version 1.0.1.52 or later
- 1. Download the latest firmware version 1.0.1.52 or later from the official NETGEAR support website (kb.netgear.com) for the R6400 router
- 2. Navigate to the router's web management interface (typically http://routerlogin.net or http://192.168.1.1)
- 3. Log in with administrator credentials
- 4. Go to Administration > Router Update or Advanced > Administration > Firmware Update
- 5. Click 'Check for Updates' or manually upload the downloaded firmware file
- 6. Wait for the firmware upload and installation to complete - do not power off the router during this process
- 7. The router will reboot automatically; log back in to verify the firmware version shows 1.0.1.52 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-38522 — 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-2021-38522 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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