# CVE-2021-38526: Memory corruption in n/a

> Unauthenticated attackers can exploit a buffer overflow in NETGEAR routers to execute arbitrary code.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:A/A:L/C:N/I:N/PR:N/S:U/UI: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:** 11 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w6cx-mcrx-5955

## What is CVE-2021-38526?

CVE-2021-38526 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, 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 a buffer overflow by an unauthenticated attacker. This affects RAX35 before 1.0.3.94, RAX38 before 1.0.3.94, and RAX40 before 1.0.3.94.

Weakness: CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38526?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Netgear Rax35 Firmware, Netgear Rax38 Firmware, Netgear Rax40 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-38526?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38526 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-38526 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38526 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2021-45493](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-45493/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2021-41449](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-41449/): Path traversal in n/a (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-38526 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-38526 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, 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-2021-38526 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2021-38526/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38526/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-38526
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38526
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-38526

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38526/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.