# CVE-2018-21161: Misconfiguration in n/a

> Incorrect security settings in NETGEAR routers allow attackers to bypass security controls, requiring firmware updates to remediate.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AC:L/AV:N/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:N/S:U/UI:R`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 23 Apr 2020
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r96w-9924-q3fv

## What is CVE-2018-21161?

CVE-2018-21161 is a high-severity vulnerability in Netgear D7800 Firmware, published on 23 Apr 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by incorrect configuration of security settings. This affects D7800 before 1.0.1.34, R7800 before 1.0.2.46, and R9000 before 1.0.3.16.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-21161?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Netgear D7800 Firmware, Netgear R7800 Firmware, Netgear R9000 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-21161?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-21161 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-21161 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-21161 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Netgear D7800 Firmware

- [CVE-2021-45618](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-45618/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.6)
- [CVE-2021-34947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34947/): NETGEAR R7800 net-cgi Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-27641](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-27641/): Integer overflow in R6700v3 (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-26909](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-26909/): Command injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2018-21202](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-21202/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-21161 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-21161 is a high-severity vulnerability in Netgear D7800 Firmware, published on 23 Apr 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-21161 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Netgear D7800 Firmware. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-21161/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-21161/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-21161
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-21161
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-21161

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-21161/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.