Is CVE-2021-35973 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2021-35973 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2021-35973 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2021-35973 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-35973?

CVE-2021-35973 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

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CRITICAL

CVE-2021-35973

CWE-697Published: June 30, 2021· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

NETGEAR WAC104 devices before 1.0.4.15 are affected by an authentication bypass vulnerability in /usr/sbin/mini_httpd, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to invoke any action by adding the &currentsetting.htm substring to the HTTP query, a related issue to CVE-2020-27866. This directly allows the attacker to change the web UI password, and eventually to enable debug mode (telnetd) and gain a shell on the device as the admin limited-user account (however, escalation to root is simple because of weak permissions on the /etc/ directory).

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2021-35973 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.