CVE-2017-5521

CVE-2017-5521 is a high-severity vulnerability in Netgear R6200 Firmware with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1. It is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, confirming it has been exploited in the wild (added 2022-09-08).

Key facts

Description

An issue was discovered on NETGEAR R8500, R8300, R7000, R6400, R7300, R7100LG, R6300v2, WNDR3400v3, WNR3500Lv2, R6250, R6700, R6900, and R8000 devices. They are prone to password disclosure via simple crafted requests to the web management server. The bug is exploitable remotely if the remote management option is set, and can also be exploited given access to the router over LAN or WLAN. When trying to access the web panel, a user is asked to authenticate; if the authentication is canceled and password recovery is not enabled, the user is redirected to a page that exposes a password recovery token. If a user supplies the correct token to the page /passwordrecovered.cgi?id=TOKEN (and password recovery is not enabled), they will receive the admin password for the router. If password recovery is set the exploit will fail, as it will ask the user for the recovery questions that were previously set when enabling that feature. This is persistent (even after disabling the recovery option, the exploit will fail) because the router will ask for the security questions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-5521?
An issue was discovered on NETGEAR R8500, R8300, R7000, R6400, R7300, R7100LG, R6300v2, WNDR3400v3, WNR3500Lv2, R6250, R6700, R6900, and R8000 devices. They are prone to password disclosure via simple crafted requests to the web management server. The bug is exploitable remotely if the remote management option is set, and can also be exploited given access to the router over LAN or WLAN. When trying to access the web panel, a user is asked to authenticate; if the authentication is canceled and password recovery is not enabled, the user is redirected to a page that exposes a password recovery token. If a user supplies the correct token to the page /passwordrecovered.cgi?id=TOKEN (and password recovery is not enabled), they will receive the admin password for the router. If password recovery is set the exploit will fail, as it will ask the user for the recovery questions that were previously set when enabling that feature. This is persistent (even after disabling the recovery option, the exploit will fail) because the router will ask for the security questions.
How severe is CVE-2017-5521?
CVE-2017-5521 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2017-5521 being actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2017-5521 is on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added on 2022-09-08, which means active exploitation has been confirmed. It should be prioritised for remediation.
What products are affected by CVE-2017-5521?
CVE-2017-5521 primarily affects Netgear R6200 Firmware. In total, 13 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-5521?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Because this CVE is known to be actively exploited, treat remediation as urgent — CISA KEV typically sets a short remediation deadline.
Does CVE-2017-5521 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2017-5521 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2017-14625. It is also flagged as exploited in the EUVD (since 2022-09-08).
When was CVE-2017-5521 published?
CVE-2017-5521 was published on 2017-01-17 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (13)

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