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CVE-2020-26919

From Exploited flaws, HARD’s guide to the flaws being used in attacks · Checked
This article is about a flaw in NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices. For every flaw being used in attacks, see Exploited flaws; for NETGEAR’s, see NETGEAR flaws being used in attacks.

CVE-2020-26919 is a security flaw in NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices, routers for homes and small offices. Attackers can reach parts of NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices that should be locked to them. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 3 Nov 2021.[1]

NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices is in things households have: home and small-office routers, so the fix matters at home as much as at work. NETGEAR has published a fix or advice.

Description

CISA calls it a missing function level access control in NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices. In its words: “Netgear JGS516PE devices contain a missing function level access control vulnerability.”[1]

It scores 9.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it critical, scored by NVD using CVSS 3.1.[2]

Affected versions

NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it; NETGEAR’s advisory has them[3]. CISA names the product as NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices.

Every device with NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices needs the update.

Exploitation

CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 3 Nov 2021, 390 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 3 May 2022 to fix it.[1]

FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at 57%. That’s in the top 1% of the flaws it scores.[4]

CISA assesses it as automatable: attackers can run it against many targets at once.

CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.

Fix

NETGEAR has published a fix or advice.[3] CISA’s required action: “Apply updates per vendor instructions.”[1]

  1. Update NETGEAR JGS516PE Devices now.Open the router’s app, or its admin page in a browser, and look for a firmware update. Then turn on automatic updates, so the next fix arrives on its own.
  2. If the maker has stopped updating it, replace it.Routers stop getting fixes after a few years, and attackers keep a list of the ones that did. If there’s no newer firmware, it won’t be fixed.

Timeline

DateEvent
The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 9.8.[2]
CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks.[1]
CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1]
FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at 57%.[4]

See also

Other NETGEAR flaws

  • CVE-2017-5521, NETGEAR Multiple Devices: exposure of sensitive information ·
  • CVE-2017-6862, NETGEAR Multiple Devices: buffer overflow ·
  • CVE-2017-6334, NETGEAR DGN2200 Devices: OS command injection ·
  • CVE-2016-1555, NETGEAR Wireless Access Point (WAP) Devices: multiple WAP devices command injection ·
  • CVE-2016-10174, NETGEAR WNR2000v5 Router: buffer overflow ·

Similar flaws

Added the same day

  • CVE-2021-42258, BQE BillQuick Web Suite: SQL injection ·
  • CVE-2021-42013, Apache HTTP Server: path traversal ·
  • CVE-2021-41773, Apache HTTP Server: path traversal ·
  • CVE-2021-40539, Zoho ManageEngine: aDSelfService plus authentication bypass ·
  • CVE-2021-40444, Microsoft MSHTML: remote code execution ·

Every NETGEAR flaw on CISA’s list · Everything added in November 2021

References

  1. ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Netgear JGS516PE Devices Missing Function Level Access Control Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 3 Nov 2021.
  2. ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2020-26919 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 9 Oct 2020.
  3. ^ NETGEAR. Advisories and fixes: kb.netgear.com.
  4. ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.575, percentile 99.1, 31 Oct 2026.
  5. CVE Program. “CVE-2020-26919”. The official CVE record.

This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.