CVE-2017-5521
Confirmed PUBLISHEDAn issue was discovered on NETGEAR R8500, R8300, R7000, R6400, R7300, R7100LG, R6300v2, WNDR3400v3, WNR3500Lv2, R6250, R6700, R6900, and R8000...
Recommended Action
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
At a Glance
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.
- CVE Published
- Jan 17, 2017
- Exploitation Reported
- Sep 08, 2022
- CVSS
- 8.1 High
- EPSS
- 89.4%
Affected Versions
| Vendor | Product | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| n/a |
n/a
|
n/a |
Affected |
CVE References
- 41205 exploit-db.com · Exploit https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41205/
- 95457 securityfocus.com · VDB Entry http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95457
- kb.netgear.com/30632/Web-GUI-Password-Recovery-and-Exposure... kb.netgear.com · CVE Record http://kb.netgear.com/30632/Web-GUI-Password-Recovery-and-Exposure-Se...
Recommended Actions
- Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
- Check enrichment artifacts for scanner coverage and available PoCs before rolling remediation validation.
- Use the Pro API to automate enrichment, telemetry, and workflow delivery for VM, SOC, and CTI pipelines.
Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources
Catalogues that list this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability.
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEVIntel Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2022-09-08 00:00 UTC |
| The Shadowserver | 2026-07-11 00:00 UTC |
Scanner Artifacts
Nuclei and Metasploit references linked to this CVE.
| Scanner | Reference | Detected |
|---|---|---|
| Nuclei | https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2017/CVE-2017-5521.yaml | Apr 25, 2025 |
Virtual Patch
Compensating WAF rules to help reduce exposure to this CVE. Rule content and deployable vendor exports are available with KEVIntel Enterprise.
KEVIntel does not currently have a virtual patch for this CVE. When available, KEVIntel virtual patches ship as deployable ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF rules.
Enterprise feature. Virtual patch rule content and deployable vendor exports (ModSecurity, Cloudflare, AWS WAF) are available to KEVIntel Enterprise users.
CVSS Scores
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
Exploitation Status
Exploited in the wild
Recorded 2022-09-08 00:00:00 UTC · CISA
Proof of concept available
Recorded 2026-06-12 14:20:08 UTC · Nuclei Templates
Scanner Integrations
| Scanner | Reference | Detected |
|---|---|---|
| Nuclei | https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2017/CVE-2017-5521.yaml | Apr 25, 2025 |
Potential Proof of Concepts
These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.
nuclei · Created Unknown
Timeline
Key exploitation, disclosure, scanner coverage, and KEV attestation events for this CVE.
-
00:00 UTC 12 days ago00:00 UTC · 12 days ago
KEV confirmed by The Shadowserver
Exploitation attested by an external source
-
14:20 UTC about 1 month ago14:20 UTC · about 1 month ago
Public PoC available
Public proof-of-concept code published
-
00:00 UTC about 1 year ago00:00 UTC · about 1 year ago
Nuclei template available
Scanner coverage available
-
00:00 UTC almost 4 years ago00:00 UTC · almost 4 years ago
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
09:22 UTC over 9 years ago09:22 UTC · over 9 years ago
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
00:00 UTC over 9 years ago00:00 UTC · over 9 years ago
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API
Confidence scoring, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
Pro API Example
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2017-5521
{
"cve_id": "CVE-2017-5521",
"title": "An issue was discovered on NETGEAR R8500, R8300, R7000, R6400, R7300, R7100LG...",
"affected_vendor": "NETGEAR",
"affected_product": "Routers",
"affected_versions": [
{ "vendor": "...", "product": "...", "status": "affected", "display_label": "..." }
],
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 8.1,
"epss_score": 0.89353,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "...": "Pro API fields" },
"proof_of_concepts": [ "..." ],
"scanner_integrations": [ "..." ]
}