Actively exploited vulnerability
NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices: improper access control flaw under attack
CVE-2020-26919 · Netgear JGS516PE Devices Missing Function Level Access Control Vulnerability
What is affected
NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices are the kind of equipment many homes and small offices run for years without touching: a router, camera or storage box. Attackers scan the internet for exposed units, and a hijacked one can spy on traffic or be enrolled in a botnet without any visible sign.
Netgear JGS516PE devices contain a missing function level access control vulnerability.
What an attacker can do
This is a improper access control flaw. It lets an attacker perform actions or reach data that should be restricted to authorised users.
- How it is reached
- Over the internet or network
- Access the attacker needs
- No account needed
- Does the victim have to do something?
- No, works without the victim doing anything
What to do
- Check whether you own this device: look at the label on your router, camera or NAS, or open its admin page and note the model and firmware version.
- Install the latest firmware from the manufacturer's support page or the device's own update menu.
- If the manufacturer no longer releases updates for the model, replace it. An end-of-life device with an exploited flaw cannot be made safe.
- Turn off remote administration from the internet unless you truly need it, and change the default admin password.
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
How urgent is it
CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on November 3, 2021, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by May 3, 2022, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.
The EPSS model estimates a 57% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.1% of all scored vulnerabilities.
Its CVSS severity score is 9.8 out of 10 (critical), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.
Technical description
NETGEAR JGS516PE devices before 2.6.0.43 are affected by lack of access control at the function level.