CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV High exploit reference

CVE-2017-5521 — NETGEAR Multiple Devices Exposure of Sensitive Information Vulnerability

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.

Published Jan 17, 2017 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: mitre

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • Public exploit/PoC (nuclei, metasploit, exploitdb)+20
  • EPSS 89.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Sep 8, 2022
EPSS FIRST
89.25%
ahead of 100% of scored CVEs · Oct 15, 2026
Affects
Netgear
Ac1450 Firmware and 12 more
CVSS base
8.1
High · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

CISA required action CISA

Apply updates per vendor instructions. If the affected device has since entered end-of-life, it should be disconnected if still in use.

US federal deadline: Sep 29, 2022 — passed 1478 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Netgear Ac1450 Firmware, Netgear D6220 Firmware, Netgear D6300 Firmware…).
  2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
  3. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  4. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  5. EPSS ahead of 100% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  6. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Netgear Ac1450 Firmware version 1.0.0.34_10.0.16 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear D6220 Firmware version 1.0.0.12 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear D6300 Firmware version 1.0.0.96 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear D6300b Firmware version 1.0.0.40 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear D6400 Firmware version 1.0.0.44 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear Dgn2200bv4 Firmware version 1.0.0.68 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear R6200 Firmware version 1.0.1.56_1.0.43 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear R6300 Firmware version 1.0.2.78_1.0.58 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear Vegn2610 Firmware version 1.0.0.36 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear Wndr3700v3 Firmware version 1.0.0.40_1.0.32 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear Wndr4000 Firmware version 1.0.2.4_9.1.86 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear Wndr4500 Firmware version 1.0.1.44_1.0.73 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netgear Wnr1000v3 Firmware version 1.0.2.68_60.0.93 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High 2.2 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High 2.2 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
8.1 CVSS 3.0 High — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
4.3 CVSS 2.0 Medium 8.6 2.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

Listed
Sep 8, 2022
Federal deadline
Sep 29, 2022
passed 1478 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Unknown

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Detection templates (Nuclei)
Metasploit modules
Exploit-DB

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 89.25%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Sep 8, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Affected products added · netgear/r6200 firmware, netgear/r6300 firmware, netgear/vegn2610 firmware, netgear/ac1450 firmware, netgear/wnr1000v3 fi
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 8.1
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Added to CISA KEV (detected)
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • 2022
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Sep 7, 2022 · CISA
  • 2017
  • CVE published
    Jan 17, 2017 · mitre

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

7 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Netgear
every CVE for this vendor
2022-09
what else CISA listed that month

Related CVEs (same products)

  • High CVE-2016-6277 NETGEAR Multiple Routers Remote Code Execution Vulnerability KEV Dec 14, 2016

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No CWE classification.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2017-5521 is "NETGEAR Multiple Devices Exposure of Sensitive Information Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Ac1450 Firmware (Netgear); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 8.1 describes technical severity. EPSS 89.25% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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