CVE-2019-20719 in D6220
Summary
by MITRE
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by a buffer overflow by an authenticated user. This affects D6220 before 1.0.0.48, D6400 before 1.0.0.82, D7000v2 before 1.0.0.52, D8500 before 1.0.3.43, R6250 before 1.0.4.34, R6400 before 1.0.1.44, R6400v2 before 1.0.2.62, R7000P before 1.4.1.30, R7100LG before 1.0.0.48, R7300DST before 1.0.0.68, R7900 before 1.0.3.8, R7900P before 1.4.1.30, R8000 before 1.0.4.28, R8000P before 1.4.1.30, R8300 before 1.0.2.128, and R8500 before 1.0.2.128.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/31/2024
This vulnerability represents a critical buffer overflow condition affecting multiple NETGEAR wireless routers and networking equipment models. The flaw exists within the device's web-based administration interface and can be exploited by an authenticated user who possesses valid login credentials. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the firmware's processing of user-supplied data, specifically when handling certain parameters in HTTP requests. This allows an attacker with legitimate access to the device to craft malicious input that exceeds the allocated buffer space, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system crashes. The affected models span several generations of NETGEAR's consumer and enterprise networking hardware, indicating a widespread issue that impacts device families from the D6220 through R8500 series. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only authentication, meaning that an attacker who has already gained access to the device's administrative interface could escalate their privileges and potentially compromise the entire network infrastructure. The buffer overflow occurs during the processing of user-controllable input parameters, which violates the principle of least privilege and demonstrates poor secure coding practices. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios. The operational impact extends beyond simple device instability, as successful exploitation could enable persistent backdoor access to the network, allowing attackers to monitor traffic, modify network settings, or use the compromised device as a pivot point for attacks on other networked systems. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1059 for command and script injection techniques, as the buffer overflow could potentially be leveraged to execute arbitrary commands on the affected devices. The affected firmware versions indicate that this issue has persisted across multiple software releases, suggesting that the root cause was not properly addressed in the development cycle. Network security professionals should note that this vulnerability is particularly dangerous in environments where network administrators reuse default credentials or where device access is not properly secured. The exploitation of this vulnerability could result in complete compromise of the affected network segment, as these devices often serve as gateways between internal networks and external internet access points. Organizations should prioritize immediate firmware updates to address this vulnerability, as the affected models include popular consumer and business-grade networking equipment. The authentication requirement reduces the attack surface compared to unauthenticated vulnerabilities, but the potential for privilege escalation remains significant. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of implementing robust input validation and memory management practices in embedded network devices, particularly those with web interfaces that are accessible to network administrators. Security controls should include monitoring for unusual administrative activities and implementing multi-factor authentication for device access to mitigate the risk of exploitation. The widespread nature of affected models suggests that this vulnerability could impact thousands of devices in both residential and enterprise environments, making it a critical concern for network security teams.