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Rax30 FirmwareOperating system · Netgear

CVE-2023-40480

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.9.92 or later.
See remediation →
93/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
No privileges 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 RAX30 DHCP Server Command Injection Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of NETGEAR RAX30 routers. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the DHCP server. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of a user-supplied string before using it to execute a system call. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-19705.

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

A command injection vulnerability exists in the DHCP server component of NETGEAR RAX30 routers. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied input before it is passed to a system call. Since authentication is not required and the exploit runs in root context, an attacker with network adjacency to the router can achieve unauthenticated remote code execution with highest privileges.

MitigationApply the NETGEAR firmware patch when available. As an interim control, restrict physical and network access to the router's LAN segment, and consider disabling the DHCP server if not essential or placing the router behind a segmentation boundary.

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
Rax30 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.9.92

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/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 the router model
    Log into the router web interface or check the device label to confirm the model is NETGEAR RAX30
    Affected if The device is not a NETGEAR RAX30 router - this vulnerability only affects that specific model
  2. Check the installed firmware version
    Log into the router web interface, go to Settings or Administration section, and locate the Firmware Version field. Alternatively, check the NETGEAR support site for your model and compare your version to 1.0.9.92
    Affected if The firmware version is lower than 1.0.9.92 (for example, 1.0.9.86, 1.0.8.10, etc.)
  3. Verify DHCP server is enabled
    Log into the router web interface, navigate to LAN Setup or DHCP Settings, and check if the DHCP server is turned on
    Affected if The DHCP server is enabled - the vulnerability exists in the DHCP server component and this is the attack surface
  4. Check router network exposure
    Determine if the router's management interface is accessible from the WAN or if the LAN segment is exposed to untrusted networks. Review firewall rules and port forwarding configurations
    Affected if The router or its DHCP service is accessible from an untrusted network segment - an attacker with network adjacency can exploit this vulnerability without authentication

You are affected if you own a NETGEAR RAX30 router running firmware below version 1.0.9.92 with the DHCP server enabled and the router is accessible to untrusted network adjacency.

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 1.0.9.92 or later
Fixed in 1.0.9.92
Interim mitigation

Apply the NETGEAR firmware patch when available. As an interim control, restrict physical and network access to the router's LAN segment, and consider disabling the DHCP server if not essential or placing the router behind a segmentation boundary.

Recommended fix High confidence

Rax30 Firmware version 1.0.9.92 or later

  1. Navigate to the official NETGEAR support page at kb.netgear.com and locate the RAX30 router downloads section
  2. Download the firmware version 1.0.9.92 or later (the first fixed release)
  3. Access the router's web administration interface by entering the router's IP address in a web browser
  4. Log into the router administration panel with administrator credentials
  5. Navigate to the Administration or Firmware Update section
  6. Select the downloaded firmware file and initiate the update process
  7. Wait for the firmware upload and installation to complete - do not power off the router during this process
  8. After the router reboots, verify the firmware version has been updated to 1.0.9.92 or later
Caveat Standard NETGEAR firmware update carries minimal risk; ensure stable power during upload

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

Fix this in Rax30 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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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-2023-40480 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