CVE-2021-45618 in D7800
Summary
by MITRE • 12/26/2021
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by command injection by an unauthenticated attacker. This affects D7800 before 1.0.1.64, EX6200v2 before 1.0.1.86, EX6250 before 1.0.0.134, EX7700 before 1.0.0.216, EX8000 before 1.0.1.232, LBR20 before 2.6.3.50, R7800 before 1.0.2.80, R8900 before 1.0.5.26, R9000 before 1.0.5.26, RAX120 before 1.2.0.16, RBS50Y before 1.0.0.56, WNR2000v5 before 1.0.0.76, XR450 before 2.3.2.114, XR500 before 2.3.2.114, XR700 before 1.0.1.36, EX6150v2 before 1.0.1.98, EX7300 before 1.0.2.158, EX7320 before 1.0.0.134, EX6100v2 before 1.0.1.98, EX6400 before 1.0.2.158, EX7300v2 before 1.0.0.134, EX6410 before 1.0.0.134, RBR10 before 2.6.1.44, RBR20 before 2.6.2.104, RBR40 before 2.6.2.104, RBR50 before 2.7.2.102, EX6420 before 1.0.0.134, RBS10 before 2.6.1.44, RBS20 before 2.6.2.104, RBS40 before 2.6.2.104, RBS50 before 2.7.2.102, EX6400v2 before 1.0.0.134, RBK12 before 2.6.1.44, RBK20 before 2.6.2.104, RBK40 before 2.6.2.104, and RBK50 before 2.7.2.102.
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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 unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on affected devices. The issue stems from improper input validation within the web interface of these routers and access points, creating a pathway for malicious actors to inject and execute system commands without requiring authentication credentials. The vulnerability affects a broad range of NETGEAR products including routers, access points, and wireless bridges across multiple product lines and firmware versions, with specific affected models spanning from the D7800 to various RBR and RBK series devices.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-77, which describes command injection vulnerabilities where untrusted data is incorporated into system commands without proper sanitization or validation. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious requests that bypass authentication mechanisms and directly manipulate the underlying operating system commands. This allows for complete compromise of the affected devices, enabling attackers to gain full administrative control over the network infrastructure. The vulnerability exists in the web management interface where user-supplied parameters are not properly sanitized before being passed to system commands, creating a classic injection attack vector that can be exploited through HTTP requests.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, potentially affecting network security, availability, and data integrity across affected deployments. Once exploited, attackers can gain root access to the devices, allowing them to modify network configurations, redirect traffic, install malware, or establish persistent backdoors. The unauthenticated nature of the attack means that any individual with network access can exploit this vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in environments where network devices are exposed to untrusted networks or where physical access to the network infrastructure is possible. Organizations may experience complete network compromise, with attackers able to monitor traffic, modify routing tables, or disable security features that protect their network infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate firmware updates from NETGEAR to address the command injection vulnerability, as these patches typically implement proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms. Network administrators should also implement network segmentation to isolate affected devices from critical network segments, deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts, and consider disabling unnecessary web management interfaces when not actively required. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices and input validation as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and MITRE ATT&CK framework, where such command injection vulnerabilities are categorized under the execution and privilege escalation tactics. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all affected devices within their network infrastructure and implement proper network monitoring to detect anomalous behavior that may indicate exploitation attempts.