# CVE-2021-20175: Information disclosure in Netgear Nighthawk R6700

> Netgear Nighthawk routers transmit sensitive credentials in cleartext over HTTP on the SOAP interface, allowing attackers to intercept data.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 30 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-47jc-2cqh-wc8g

## What is CVE-2021-20175?

CVE-2021-20175 is a high-severity vulnerability in Netgear R6700 Firmware, published on 30 Dec 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Netgear Nighthawk R6700 version 1.0.4.120 does not utilize secure communication methods to the SOAP interface. By default, all communication to/from the device's SOAP Interface (port 5000) is sent via HTTP, which causes potentially sensitive information (such as usernames and passwords) to be transmitted in cleartext

Weakness: CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-20175?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Netgear R6700 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-20175?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-20175 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-20175 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-20175 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2021-20175 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-20175 is a high-severity vulnerability in Netgear R6700 Firmware, published on 30 Dec 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-20175 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2021-20175/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20175/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-20175
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-20175
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-20175

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20175/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.