CVE-2021-41789
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 · uneditedIn wifi driver, there is a possible system crash due to a missing validation check. This could lead to remote denial of service from a proximal attacker with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: GN20190426015; Issue ID: GN20190426015.
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 confidenceA missing validation check in the wifi driver allows a proximal attacker within wireless range to cause a system crash, leading to remote denial of service. No user interaction or elevated privileges are required for exploitation.
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= 4.4.1.1= 4.4.1.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the wifi chipset modelCheck the device's admin interface under 'System Information' or 'Wireless Settings', or review the product specifications to determine if the device uses a Mediatek Mt7615 or Mt7622 chipsetAffected if The device does not use Mt7615 or Mt7622 chipset - not affected; if either chipset is present, continue to next check
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Check the firmware versionAccess the router or access point admin interface and locate the firmware version under 'System Status', 'Firmware Version', or similar section. For command-line access, run 'cat /proc/version' or check '/etc/osrelease' if available via SSH/telnetAffected if Firmware version is exactly 4.4.1.1 - likely affected. If version differs (higher or lower), compare against the affected range. If version cannot be determined, treat as potentially affected
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Verify wifi radio is enabledCheck the wireless settings in the admin interface or run 'iwconfig' or 'ifconfig' via command line to see if the wireless interface is upAffected if Wifi is disabled - the specific exploitation pathway may not be reachable, but the vulnerable code may still be present in the firmware
The device is affected if it contains a Mediatek Mt7615 or Mt7622 chipset running firmware version 4.4.1.1 and has wifi functionality enabled, allowing a proximal attacker within wireless range to trigger a system crash.
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 the vendor patch (GN20190426015) to update the wifi driver and add the missing validation check to prevent the system crash condition.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-41789 — 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-2021-41789 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data