Skip to content
brandefense.io
Request A Demo
Vulnerability Intelligence

CVE-2017-5521

HighExploitedPublic exploit

An issue was discovered on NETGEAR R8500, R8300, R7000, R6400, R7300, R7100LG, R6300v2, WNDR3400v3, WNR3500Lv2, R6250, R6700, R6900, and R8000 devices.

Published Jan 17, 2017 · Updated Apr 21, 2026

Key Facts

Patch immediately
  • CVE-2017-5521 is a high-severity vulnerability (CVSS 8.1 v3.1) affecting Ac1450 Firmware (Netgear), D6220 Firmware (Netgear), D6300b Firmware (Netgear) and 10 more products.
  • It is exploited in the wild, listed in CISA KEV, Industry KEV feed, CIRCL KEV, ENISA EUVD since Jul 13, 2018. Public exploit code is available.
  • EPSS estimates a 89% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
  • No fixed version is listed yet; check the vendor advisory for mitigations.
  • Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because it is listed as exploited in the wild.

CVSS v3.1

8.1

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS (30-day exploit likelihood)

89%

Higher than 99.7% of all scored CVEs

Exploited in the wild

Yes

4 catalog listings

Public exploit code

Available

Proof-of-concept or weaponized module

Get the full CVE-2017-5521 brief as a PDF

Every affected product and fixed release, exploitation status and a first 24 hours response checklist, emailed within minutes.

Description

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.

Known-Exploited Catalog Listings

CatalogAddedRemediation dueRansomware use
CISA KEVSep 8, 2022Sep 29, 2022Not reported
Industry KEV feedJul 13, 2018Sep 29, 2022Not reported
CIRCL KEVSep 8, 2022Sep 29, 2022Not reported
ENISA EUVDSep 8, 2022n/aNot reported

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.

Affected Products

13 affected entries in total
ProductAffected versionsFixed in
Ac1450 FirmwareNetgear1.0.0.34_10.0.16n/a
D6220 FirmwareNetgear1.0.0.12n/a
D6300b FirmwareNetgear1.0.0.40n/a
D6300 FirmwareNetgear1.0.0.96n/a
D6400 FirmwareNetgear1.0.0.44n/a
8 more affected products in the full CVE brief

Timeline

  1. Publicly disclosed

    Jan 17, 2017

  2. Added to Industry KEV feed

    Jul 13, 2018

  3. Added to CISA KEV

    Sep 8, 2022

  4. Added to CIRCL KEV

    Sep 8, 2022

  5. Added to ENISA EUVD

    Sep 8, 2022

  6. Last updated

    Apr 21, 2026

References

10 more references in the full CVE brief

FAQ

Common Questions.

Is CVE-2017-5521 Running On Your Attack Surface?

Brandefense maps vulnerabilities like this one to your internet-facing assets and tells you exactly where to patch.

Request A Demo