CVE-2021-45545 in R7850
Summary
by MITRE • 12/26/2021
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by command injection by an authenticated user. This affects R7850 before 1.0.5.74, R7900P before 1.4.2.84, R7960P before 1.4.2.84, R8000 before 1.0.4.74, R8000P before 1.4.2.84, RAX200 before 1.0.4.120, RAX75 before 1.0.4.120, RAX80 before 1.0.4.120, RBK852 before 3.2.17.12, RBR850 before 3.2.17.12, and RBS850 before 3.2.17.12.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/28/2021
This vulnerability represents a critical command injection flaw in NETGEAR networking equipment that allows authenticated users to execute arbitrary commands on affected devices. The issue stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the web interface of these routers, creating a pathway for malicious actors who have already gained access to legitimate user credentials to escalate their privileges and compromise the entire network infrastructure. The vulnerability affects multiple models across different product lines including the R7850, R7900P, R7960P, R8000, R8000P, RAX200, RAX75, RAX80, RBK852, RBR850, and RBS850 series devices.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper handling of user-supplied input in the device's web administration interface. When authenticated users submit specific command parameters through web forms or API endpoints, the system fails to properly validate or sanitize these inputs before processing them within the system shell. This allows attackers to inject malicious commands that get executed with the privileges of the web server process, which typically runs with elevated permissions on the device. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-77 which describes improper neutralization of special elements used in a command, and represents a classic example of command injection that can be exploited through various attack vectors including web forms, API calls, or even crafted HTTP requests.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted for network administrators and organizations relying on affected NETGEAR devices. Once exploited, an attacker can gain full control over the compromised router, potentially leading to complete network compromise through man-in-the-middle attacks, DNS hijacking, traffic interception, or lateral movement within the network. The vulnerability enables attackers to modify router configurations, disable security features, install backdoors, or redirect network traffic to malicious endpoints. This risk is particularly concerning given that many of these devices are deployed in residential and small business environments where network security monitoring may be limited, and where the default administrative credentials are often left unchanged or easily guessable. The affected devices are commonly used as primary network gateways, making them attractive targets for cybercriminals seeking persistent access to entire networks.
Organizations should immediately implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including firmware updates to the latest versions that address this vulnerability, which are available through NETGEAR's official support channels. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit the blast radius of potential exploitation, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual network traffic patterns or configuration changes that might indicate compromise. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security assessments and the implementation of principle of least privilege for administrative access. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, making it a critical target for both defensive and offensive security teams. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network monitoring solutions that can detect and alert on suspicious command execution patterns within their network infrastructure.