CVE-2024-50998
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 R8500 v1.0.2.160 was discovered to contain multiple stack overflow vulnerabilities in the component openvpn.cgi via the openvpn_service_port and openvpn_service_port_tun parameters. These vulnerabilities allow attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via a crafted POST request.
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 confidenceStack overflow vulnerabilities exist in the Netgear R8500's openvpn.cgi handler via the openvpn_service_port and openvpn_service_port_tun POST parameters. The lack of proper bounds checking on these parameters allows attackers to overflow the stack buffer, leading to denial of service.
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= 1.0.2.160CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/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 device modelAccess the router web interface or check the device label to confirm the model is Netgear R8500Affected if The device is not a Netgear R8500 (not affected)
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Check the installed firmware versionLog into the router web interface, go to Administration > Firmware Update or check under Advanced > Administration > Router Status to find the firmware version stringAffected if Firmware version is 1.0.2.160 (vulnerable version)
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Determine if OpenVPN service is enabledLog into the router web interface and navigate to Advanced > VPN Service or Advanced > VPN > OpenVPN to check if the OpenVPN server is turned onAffected if OpenVPN service is enabled (the vulnerable CGI handler is accessible)
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Verify OpenVPN configuration for the vulnerable parametersWhile in the OpenVPN settings page, examine the configuration fields for OpenVPN Service Port and OpenVPN Service Port (Tunnel) - these correspond to the vulnerable openvpn_service_port and openvpn_service_port_tun POST parametersAffected if These port configuration fields exist and accept user input (the vulnerable parameters are present)
The device is affected if it is a Netgear R8500 running firmware version 1.0.2.160 with the OpenVPN service enabled, as the stack overflow vulnerability requires the OpenVPN CGI handler to be accessible.
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 any available Netgear firmware update for the R8500. If no update exists, consider disabling the OpenVPN service, implementing network segmentation to limit exposure, or replacing the end-of-life device.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-50998 — 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-2024-50998 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
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