# CVE-2021-38517: Memory corruption in n/a

> Out-of-bounds read and write vulnerabilities in NETGEAR routers allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:A/A:H/C:N/I:L/PR:H/S:C/UI:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8hh6-j7m7-vh6q

## What is CVE-2021-38517?

CVE-2021-38517 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Netgear R6400 Firmware, published on 11 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by out-of-bounds reads and writes. This affects R6400 before 1.0.1.70, RAX75 before 1.0.4.120, RAX80 before 1.0.4.120, and XR300 before 1.0.3.50.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38517?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Netgear R6400 Firmware, Netgear Rax75 Firmware, Netgear Rax80 Firmware, Netgear Xr300 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-38517?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38517 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-38517 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38517 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Netgear R6400 Firmware

- [CVE-2017-18864](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-18864/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-45554](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-45554/): Command injection in n/a (high 8.4)
- [CVE-2020-11789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11789/): Command injection in n/a (high 8.3)
- [CVE-2021-38515](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38515/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2021-45516](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-45516/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 6.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-38517 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-38517 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Netgear R6400 Firmware, published on 11 Aug 2021. 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-2021-38517 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Netgear R6400 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-2021-38517/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38517/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-38517
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38517
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-38517

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38517/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.