# CVE-2020-10923: Auth bypass in R6700

> Network-adjacent attackers can bypass authentication via UPnP on NETGEAR routers, potentially leading to root code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Jul 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p845-8rw7-6wm9

## What is CVE-2020-10923?

CVE-2020-10923 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Netgear R6700 Firmware, published on 28 Jul 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to bypass authentication on affected installations of NETGEAR R6700 V1.0.4.84_10.0.58 routers. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the UPnP service, which listens on TCP port 5000. A crafted UPnP message can be used to bypass authentication. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-9642.

Weakness: CWE-305 (Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-10923?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Netgear R6700 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-10923?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-10923 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-10923 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-10923 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Netgear R6700v3 Unauthenticated LAN Admin Password Reset (metasploit)

## Other vulnerabilities in Netgear R6700 Firmware

- [CVE-2023-30280](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-30280/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-20173](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20173/): Command injection in Netgear Nighthawk R6700 (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-45732](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-45732/): Hardcoded credentials in Netgear Nighthawk R6700 (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-15635](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15635/): Memory corruption in R6700 (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-10924](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10924/): Memory corruption in R6700 (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-10923 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-10923 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Netgear R6700 Firmware, published on 28 Jul 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-10923 exists.

Affected product: Netgear R6700 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-2020-10923/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10923/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-10923
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10923
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-10923

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10923/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.