CVE-2019-12511
CWE-78Published: February 24, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Official Description
In NETGEAR Nighthawk X10-R9000 prior to 1.0.4.26, an attacker may execute arbitrary system commands as root by sending a specially-crafted MAC address to the "NETGEAR Genie" SOAP endpoint at AdvancedQoS:GetCurrentBandwidthByMAC. Although this requires QoS being enabled, advanced QoS being enabled, and a valid authentication JWT, additional vulnerabilities (CVE-2019-12510) allow an attacker to interact with the entire SOAP API without authentication. Additionally, DNS rebinding techniques may be used to exploit this vulnerability remotely. Exploiting this vulnerability is somewhat involved. The following limitations apply to the payload and must be overcome for successful exploitation: - No more than 17 characters may be used. - At least one colon must be included to prevent mangling. - A single-quote and meta-character must be used to break out of the existing command. - Parent command remnants after the injection point must be dealt with. - The payload must be in all-caps. Despite these limitations, it is still possible to gain access to an interactive root shell via this vulnerability. Since the web server assigns certain HTTP headers to environment variables with all-caps names, it is possible to insert a payload into one such header and reference the subsequent environment variable in the injection point.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2019-12511 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
Official Patches & Advisories
All References (2)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-78)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2019-12511 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts