CVE-2021-38526 [Medium] | Memory Corruption in Rax35 Firmware

CVE-2021-38526 is rated Low Risk (38.5/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.02%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.28%	1.02%	+0.74%
2	2025-03-30	0.45%	0.28%	-0.16%
3	2025-03-29	—	0.45%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.28%

1.02%

+0.74%

2025-03-30

0.45%

0.28%

-0.16%

2025-03-29

—

0.45%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
4.3	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:A) Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:L) Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.	2.8	1.4	[email protected]
7.5	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	3.9	3.6	[email protected]
5.0	2.0	MEDIUM	`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:L) Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:N) No confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:N) No integrity impact. Availability impact (A:P) Partial availability impact.	10.0	2.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

4.3

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:A): Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:L): Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.

2.8

1.4

[email protected]

7.5

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

3.9

3.6

[email protected]

5.0

2.0

MEDIUM

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L): Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N): No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N): No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P): Partial availability impact.

10.0

2.9

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-38526

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
netgear	rax35_firmware	< 1.0.3.94	cpe:2.3:o:netgear:rax35_firmware::::::::
netgear	rax38_firmware	< 1.0.3.94	cpe:2.3:o:netgear:rax38_firmware::::::::
netgear	rax40_firmware	< 1.0.3.94	cpe:2.3:o:netgear:rax40_firmware::::::::

References for CVE-2021-38526

URL	Tags
https://kb.netgear.com/000063782/Security-Advisory-for-Pre-Authentication-Buffer-Overflow-on-Some-Routers-PSV-2020-0416	Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2021-38526

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-38526

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-38526

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-38526

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-38526

References for CVE-2021-38526