# CVE-2020-17409: Auth bypass in Multiple Routers

> Network-adjacent attackers can bypass authentication on NETGEAR routers to disclose stored credentials, leading to further compromise.

- **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:** 13 Oct 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x2v7-676c-4x7c

## What is CVE-2020-17409?

CVE-2020-17409 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Netgear R6020 Firmware, published on 13 Oct 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 disclose sensitive information on affected installations of NETGEAR R6120, R6080, R6260, R6220, R6020, JNR3210, and WNR2020 routers with firmware 1.0.66. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the mini_httpd service, which listens on TCP port 80 by default. The issue results from incorrect string matching logic when accessing protected pages. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to disclose stored credentials, leading to further compromise. Was ZDI-CAN-10754.

Weakness: CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-17409?

It affects 11 products.


Products: Netgear Jnr3210 Firmware, Netgear R6020 Firmware, Netgear R6080 Firmware, Netgear R6120 Firmware, Netgear R6220 Firmware, Netgear R6230 Firmware, Netgear R6260 Firmware, Netgear R6330 Firmware, Netgear R6350 Firmware, Netgear R6850 Firmware, Netgear Wnr2020 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-17409?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-17409 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-17409 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-17409 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-17409 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-17409 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Netgear R6020 Firmware, published on 13 Oct 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-17409 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Netgear R6020 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-2020-17409/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-17409/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-17409
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-17409
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-17409

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-17409/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.