R8000 FirmwareOperating system · Netgear

CVE-2021-45524

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.4.62 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
NETGEAR R8000 devices before 1.0.4.62 are affected by a 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 · moderate confidence

NETGEAR R8000 routers before firmware version 1.0.4.62 contain a buffer overflow vulnerability that can be exploited by an authenticated user, potentially allowing remote code execution or service disruption.

MitigationUpgrade NETGEAR R8000 firmware to version 1.0.4.62 or later. Restrict administrative access to trusted personnel until the patch is applied.

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
R8000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.4.62

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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 the device model
    Log into the router admin interface and check the device model under Administration > Router Info or similar. Alternatively, check the device label on the router hardware itself.
    Affected if The device is not a NETGEAR R8000 router, then this CVE does not apply.
  2. Check the firmware version
    In the router admin interface, navigate to Administration > Firmware Update or Router Info to view the current firmware version. The version is typically displayed as a number like 1.0.4.x.
    Affected if The installed firmware version is less than 1.0.4.62.
  3. Determine if remote administration is enabled
    In the router admin interface, check Advanced > Remote Management. Verify whether remote web access is enabled and which IP addresses are permitted access.
    Affected if Remote administration is exposed to untrusted networks and the firmware version is below 1.0.4.62.
  4. Verify administrative access method
    Check if the router admin interface is accessible over HTTP/HTTPS from the WAN side. This can be tested by accessing the router's public IP address from an external network, if remote management is enabled.
    Affected if The administrative interface is accessible from the WAN and the firmware version is below 1.0.4.62, increasing exploitability.

The environment is affected if the device is a NETGEAR R8000 router running firmware version lower than 1.0.4.62, particularly if remote administrative access is enabled.

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 1.0.4.62 or later
Fixed in 1.0.4.62
Interim mitigation

Upgrade NETGEAR R8000 firmware to version 1.0.4.62 or later. Restrict administrative access to trusted personnel until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.0.4.62 or later

  1. Download firmware version 1.0.4.62 or later for NETGEAR R8000 from the official NETGEAR support website (kb.netgear.com)
  2. Access the NETGEAR R8000 router's web management interface by navigating to the router's IP address
  3. Log in with administrator credentials
  4. Navigate to the Advanced tab and select Administration > Firmware Update
  5. Click Check for New Version or manually upload the downloaded firmware file
  6. Wait for the firmware to upload and install - do not power off the router during this process
  7. The router will automatically restart after the update completes
  8. Verify the firmware version shows 1.0.4.62 or later in the router administration interface

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

Fix this in R8000 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,464.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-45524 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-45524 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • 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