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R8500 FirmwareOperating system · Netgear

CVE-2024-51009

HIGH · 8.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
82/100
Remediation priority · High
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 R8500 v1.0.2.160 was discovered to contain a command injection vulnerability in the wan_gateway parameter at ether.cgi. This vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via a crafted 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 · high confidence

A command injection vulnerability exists in the wan_gateway parameter of the ether.cgi endpoint on Netgear R8500 v1.0.2.160 routers. Attackers can inject and execute arbitrary OS commands by sending specially crafted requests containing shell metacharacters in the wan_gateway value, potentially achieving full device compromise with root privileges.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched firmware version from Netgear; if unavailable, restrict administrative access to trusted IPs only and implement network segmentation to limit exposure to the router's management interface.

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
R8500 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.0.2.160

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/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. Confirm Netgear R8500 model
    Access the router web interface or check the device label to verify the model number is R8500
    Affected if Device is not a Netgear R8500
  2. Check installed firmware version
    Log into the router web interface and navigate to Administration > Firmware Update or check under Advanced > Administration > Router Status to view the current firmware version
    Affected if Firmware version equals 1.0.2.160 exactly
  3. Verify ether.cgi endpoint accessibility
    Attempt to access the router web interface URL path /ether.cgi or check if the web management service is listening on HTTP/HTTPS ports (typically 80/443)
    Affected if The ether.cgi endpoint is reachable and the router management interface is active
  4. Check WAN-side management configuration
    Under Advanced > Administration > Remote Management in the router GUI, verify if remote management access from WAN is enabled
    Affected if Remote management from WAN is enabled, allowing external attackers to reach the vulnerable endpoint

You are affected if you are running Netgear R8500 firmware version 1.0.2.160 and the router management interface (including ether.cgi) is accessible, especially from the WAN side.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched firmware version from Netgear; if unavailable, restrict administrative access to trusted IPs only and implement network segmentation to limit exposure to the router's management interface.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Netgear R8500 firmware version > 1.0.2.160 (check Netgear support for latest stable release)

  1. 1. Visit the official Netgear support website at www.netgear.com/support/
  2. 2. Enter "R8500" in the product search or browse to the R8500 product support page
  3. 3. Navigate to the Downloads or Firmware section
  4. 4. Look for the latest available firmware version (higher than 1.0.2.160)
  5. 5. Download the latest firmware file
  6. 6. Access the router's web management interface at routerlogin.net or 192.168.1.1
  7. 7. Go to Administration > Router Update or similar firmware upgrade section
  8. 8. Click "Check for Updates" or manually upload the downloaded firmware file
Caveat Firmware updates may reset router configuration to defaults; backup settings before upgrading

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

Fix this in R8500 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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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-2024-51009 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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