CVE-2021-45077
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 Nighthawk R6700 version 1.0.4.120 stores sensitive information in plaintext. All usernames and passwords for the device's associated services are stored in plaintext on the device. For example, the admin password is stored in plaintext in the primary configuration file on the device.
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 confidenceThe Netgear Nighthawk R6700 router firmware version 1.0.4.120 stores all usernames and passwords for device services in plaintext within the primary configuration file. An attacker with access to the configuration file (through file disclosure, physical access, or firmware extraction) can recover administrative credentials in cleartext without any cryptographic transformation.
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= 1.0.4.120CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Verify the router firmware versionLog into the Netgear Nighthawk R6700 admin interface (typically at 192.168.1.1) and navigate to Advanced > Administration > Firmware Update or check the status page. Alternatively, the firmware version is often displayed on the main dashboard or in the router's web UI footer.Affected if The installed firmware version is exactly 1.0.4.120
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Identify the primary configuration file locationOn the R6700 firmware 1.0.4.120, the primary configuration file is typically named config.xml or similar and is stored in /etc/ or /tmp/ on the device filesystem. This file can be obtained through firmware extraction, file disclosure vulnerabilities, or physical access to the device storage.Affected if You are able to obtain and read the router configuration file from a device running firmware 1.0.4.120
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Inspect configuration file for stored credentialsAs the legitimate device owner, you may export the configuration through the router admin interface (if available) or examine the extracted firmware config file. Look for XML elements or fields containing username and password pairs.Affected if The configuration file contains username and password values stored in plaintext (not hashed, encrypted, or transformed)
You are affected if your Netgear R6700 is running exactly firmware version 1.0.4.120 AND the configuration file stores credentials without any cryptographic protection.
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 firmware updates when available. Until then, restrict physical access to the device, monitor for unauthorized configuration exports, and avoid storing sensitive data on the device that could be extracted.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-45077 — 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-2021-45077 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