CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-45626 — Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by command injection by an unauthenticated attacker

Critical CVSS 9.6

Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by command injection by an unauthenticated attacker. This affects RBK20 before 2.6.1.36, RBR20 before 2.6.1.36, RBS20 before 2.6.1.38, RBK40 before 2.6.1.36, RBR40 before 2.6.1.36, RBS40 before 2.6.1.38, RBK50 before 2.6.1.40, RBR50 before 2.6.1.40, RBS50 before 2.6.1.40, and RBS50Y before 2.6.1.40.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.6 (3.1)
Published
2021-12-26
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-77

Affected products

  • netgear / rbk20_firmware
  • netgear / rbr20_firmware
  • netgear / rbs20_firmware
  • netgear / rbk40_firmware
  • netgear / rbr40_firmware
  • netgear / rbs40_firmware

Showing 6 representative product identities from 10 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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