Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability lets a highly privileged user on the same local network raise privileges on certain NETGEAR routers. The business risk is concentrated where affected models are still running old firmware. Compromise could affect router confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where these routers protect offices, remote sites, or sensitive networks. The exploit conditions are narrower than unauthenticated internet attacks, but successful privilege escalation on network infrastructure can create high operational impact.
Technical view
CVE-2021-45679 is a vertical privilege escalation issue in NETGEAR R6900P, R7000, R7000P, and RS400 firmware before listed fixed versions. CVSS 3.1 score is 8.4, with adjacent-network attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, changed scope, and high CIA impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to listed NETGEAR router models running vulnerable firmware: R6900P before 1.3.3.140, R7000 before 1.0.11.126, R7000P before 1.3.3.140, and RS400 before 1.5.1.80.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not establish active exploitation, and the bundle marks KEV as false. The CVSS vector indicates an attacker needs adjacent-network access and high privileges, reducing broad internet-scale exposure but leaving serious risk after initial local or admin compromise.
Researcher notes
No CWE is provided in the bundle. The strongest available technical signals are the NETGEAR advisory, affected firmware thresholds, and CVSS vector. Do not assume exploit availability or broader product impact without additional vendor or public evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory environments for the four affected NETGEAR models.
- Upgrade R6900P and R7000P firmware to 1.3.3.140 or later.
- Upgrade R7000 firmware to 1.0.11.126 or later.
- Upgrade RS400 firmware to 1.5.1.80 or later.
- Check NETGEAR advisory guidance for deployment notes.
Validation and detection
- Confirm router model and current firmware version from device administration records.
- Compare firmware versions against the affected version thresholds.
- Verify updates completed successfully and persisted after reboot.
- Review administrative access logs for unusual privileged activity.
- Confirm management access is limited to trusted networks.
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.
Privilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-45679 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
- High
- CVSS
- 8.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:A/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:H/S:C/UI:N
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 vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:A/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:H/S:C/UI:N1.76Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.4HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:A/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:H/S:C/UI:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://kb.netgear.com/000064528/Security-Advisory-for-Vertical-Privilege-Escalation-on-Some-Routers-PSV-2021-0043CVE 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.