CVE-2017-5521
An issue was discovered on NETGEAR R8500, R8300, R7000, R6400, R7300, R7100LG, R6300v2, WNDR3400v3, WNR3500Lv2, R6250, R6700, R6900, and R8000 devices. They are prone to password disclosure via simple crafted requests to the web management server. The bug is exploitable remotely if the remote management option is set, and can also be exploited given access to the router over LAN or WLAN. When trying to access the web panel, a user is asked to authenticate; if the authentication is canceled and password recovery is not enabled, the user is redirected to a page that exposes a password recovery token. If a user supplies the correct token to the page /passwordrecovered.cgi?id=TOKEN (and password recovery is not enabled), they will receive the admin password for the router. If password recovery is set the exploit will fail, as it will ask the user for the recovery questions that were previously set when enabling that feature. This is persistent (even after disabling the recovery option, the exploit will fail) because the router will ask for the security questions.
- CVSS
- 8.1Highscored by CISA
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, in CISA KEV since 8 Sept 2022CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 29 Sept 2022public exploit code
- EPSS
- 89.4%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.3% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 17 Jan 2017analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Do first. Apply updates per vendor instructions. If the affected device has since entered end-of-life, it should be disconnected if still in use. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)
Summary
Triage
- Exploitable
- At runtime
- Attack vector
- network
- Can a WAF block it?
- Partly. See why
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
Products named in our analysis
- netgear:r6200_firmware
- netgear:r6300_firmware
- netgear:vegn2610_firmware
- netgear:ac1450_firmware
- netgear:wnr1000v3_firmware
- netgear:wndr3700v3_firmware
- netgear:wndr4000_firmware
- netgear:wndr4500_firmware
- netgear:d6400_firmware
- netgear:d6220_firmware
- netgear:d6300_firmware
- netgear:d6300b_firmware
- netgear:dgn2200bv4_firmware
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? Partly. The bug can be reached over the network, so generic WAF rules may stop some attacks. Its weakness type is unknown, so we cannot be more precise.
Also consider: patch
Based on the weakness type only; no CVE-specific evidence yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Listed since 8 Sept 2022.
- CISA due date
- 29 Sept 2022, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- CISA required action
- Apply updates per vendor instructions. If the affected device has since entered end-of-life, it should be disconnected if still in use.
- Public exploit code
- Yes: 1 on Exploit-DB · 1 Metasploit module · 1 Nuclei template
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 4 Feb 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
Exploit-DB
- Netgear Routers - Password Disclosurewebapps, 30 Jan 2017, verified by Exploit-DB
Metasploit
- auxiliary/gather/netgear_password_disclosureauxiliary, rank normal
Nuclei
- NETGEAR Routers - Authentication Bypassdetection template, high
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 17 Jan 2017Published
- 30 Jan 2017First public exploit or proof of concept13 days later
- 8 Sept 2022Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)2,047 days (about 6 years) later
- 29 Sept 2022CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)21 days later
- 4 Feb 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active860 days (about 2 years) later
- 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated259 days (about 9 months) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
| Attack complexity | HighNeeds specific conditions, a race or a particular configuration. | Needs specific conditions, a race or a particular configuration. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | NoneNo victim action needed. | No victim action needed. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2017-5521 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2017-5521 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2017-5521?
CVE-2017-5521 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.1. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2017-5521?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2017-5521. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2017-5521 affect?
CVE-2017-5521 affects netgear:r6200_firmware, netgear:r6300_firmware, netgear:vegn2610_firmware, netgear:ac1450_firmware, and 9 further products or versions. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
4 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Exploits (1)
- exploit-db.com /exploits/41205/
Other links (3)
- kb.netgear.com /30632/Web-GUI-Password-Recovery-and-Exposure-Security-Vulnerability
- securityfocus.com /bid/95457
- cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-5521
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Exploit-DB: published exploits
- Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
- Nuclei templates: detection templates
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
Similar CVEs
Get CVEs like this by email. Join the free digest: the CVEs we flag as major, all CVSS 8.0 or higher, in up to three emails a day (sent at 05:00, 11:00 and 15:00 UTC). Matching alerts to the products you run needs an account, and accounts are invite-only during the beta.