# CVE-2021-38521: Command injection in n/a

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

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:L/A:L/C:H/I:H/PR:H/S:U/UI:R`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jcqc-j873-gw98

## What is CVE-2021-38521?

CVE-2021-38521 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Netgear R6400 Firmware, published on 11 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by command injection by an authenticated user. This affects R6400 before 1.0.1.50, R7900P before 1.4.1.50, R8000P before 1.4.1.50, RAX75 before 1.0.1.62, and RAX80 before 1.0.1.62.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38521?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Netgear R6400 Firmware, Netgear R7900p Firmware, Netgear R8000p Firmware, Netgear Rax75 Firmware, Netgear Rax80 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-38521?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38521 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-38521 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38521 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-2021-38521 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-38521 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Netgear R6400 Firmware, published on 11 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38521 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-2021-38521/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38521/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-38521
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38521
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-38521

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38521/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.