HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2021-38539
HIGH

CVE-2021-38539

NVD-CWE-noinfoPublished: August 11, 2021· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

8.8
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by privilege escalation. This affects D8500 before 1.0.3.44, R6400v2 before 1.0.2.66, R6700 before 1.0.2.6, R6700v3 before 1.0.2.66, R6900 before 1.0.2.4, R6900P before 1.3.2.126, R7000 before 1.0.9.42, R7000P before 1.3.2.126, R7100LG before 1.0.0.50, R7300DST before 1.0.0.70, R7900 before 1.0.3.10, R8300 before 1.0.2.130, and R8500 before 1.0.2.130.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2021-38539 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

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 8.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

netgear24 product(s)
d8500 firmwared8500r6400 firmwarer6400r6700 firmwarer6700r6900 firmwarer6900r6900p firmwarer6900pr7000 firmwarer7000+12
Source: NVD CPE · 25 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://kb.netgear.com/000063760/Security-Advisory-for-Vertical-Privilege-Escalation-on-Some-Routers-and-Gateways-PSV-2018-0385
ADVISORYhttps://kb.netgear.com/000063760/Security-Advisory-for-Vertical-Privilege-Escalation-on-Some-Routers-and-Gateways-PSV-2018-0385

All References (2)

→
https://kb.netgear.com/000063760/Security-Advisory-for-Vertical-Privilege-Escalation-on-Some-Routers-and-Gateways-PSV-2018-0385Vendor Advisory
→
https://kb.netgear.com/000063760/Security-Advisory-for-Vertical-Privilege-Escalation-on-Some-Routers-and-Gateways-PSV-2018-0385Vendor Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2021-38539
CVSS Score8.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessNVD-CWE-noinfo
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedAug 11, 2021

Related CVEs (NVD-CWE-noinfo)

CVE-2017-14470
10.0
CVE-2017-14469
10.0
CVE-2018-4872
10.0
CVE-2018-4091
10.0
CVE-2018-2611
10.0
CVE-2017-14471
10.0

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2021-38539 in threat intel feeds
  • →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
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