Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This weakness affects password authentication in NETGEAR NSDP on JGS516PE and GS116Ev2 switches running version 2.6.0.43. Someone who can capture relevant network traffic may be able to derive usable password collisions or infer parts of the password. Public evidence provided does not show active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted infrastructure hygiene issue unless affected switches are on exposed or shared networks. Prioritize inventory and management-plane isolation first. Escalate if the named devices and firmware are present in sensitive environments.
Technical view
CVE-2020-35221 describes an insecure hashing algorithm used for NSDP password authentication on NETGEAR JGS516PE/GS116Ev2 v2.6.0.43. The reported impact requires access to a network capture and may allow fast collision generation for valid passwords or partial password inference. No CVSS, CWE, or vendor fix details are present in the supplied bundle.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to environments using the named NETGEAR switch models and firmware version, especially where NSDP management traffic can be captured by an attacker. The provided CVE data does not identify broader products or versions.
Exploitation context
The source describes a prerequisite of access to a network capture. KEV is false, and the provided sources do not claim active exploitation in the wild. The issue is most relevant to internal network, management-plane, or adjacent-network threat models.
Researcher notes
The bundle lacks CVSS, CWE mapping, patch status, and detailed affected CPEs. Analysis should stay scoped to NETGEAR JGS516PE/GS116Ev2 v2.6.0.43 and the NSDP authentication hash weakness described by the CVE and NCC Group reference.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory NETGEAR JGS516PE and GS116Ev2 switches and confirm firmware versions.
- Check NETGEAR and NCC Group guidance for fixed firmware or vendor-recommended mitigation.
- Restrict switch management traffic to trusted administrative networks.
- Reduce opportunities for packet capture on management segments.
- Rotate affected management passwords after remediation or exposure suspicion.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether NSDP is used or reachable on management networks.
- Identify devices running firmware version 2.6.0.43.
- Review network monitoring for unauthorized capture or management-plane access.
- Verify management interfaces are segmented from user and guest networks.
- Document remediation status and any vendor guidance followed.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
Credential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-35221 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://research.nccgroup.com/2021/03/08/technical-advisory-multiple-vulnerabilities-in-netgear-prosafe-plus-jgs516pe-gs116ev2-switches/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.