# CVE-2021-38520: Command injection in n/a

> Authenticated attackers can execute arbitrary commands on vulnerable NETGEAR routers via command injection flaws.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AC:H/AV:N/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:H/S:U/UI:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wxm7-7gfc-ppfv

## What is CVE-2021-38520?

CVE-2021-38520 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Netgear R6400 Firmware, published on 11 Aug 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by command injection by an authenticated user. This affects R6400 before 1.0.1.52, R6400v2 before 1.0.4.84, R6700v3 before 1.0.4.84, R6700v2 before 1.2.0.62, R6900v2 before 1.2.0.62, and R7000P before 1.3.2.124.

Weakness: CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38520?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Netgear R6400 Firmware, Netgear R6700 Firmware, Netgear R6900 Firmware, Netgear R7000p Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-38520?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38520 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-38520 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38520 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-2021-38520 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-38520 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Netgear R6400 Firmware, published on 11 Aug 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38520 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-2021-38520/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38520/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-38520
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38520
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-38520

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38520/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.