The update process of the Circle Parental Control Service on various NETGEAR routers allows remote attackers to achieve remote code execution as root via a MitM attack. While the parental controls themselves are not enabled by default on the routers, the Circle update daemon, circled, is enabled by default. This daemon connects to Circle and NETGEAR to obtain version information and updates to the circled daemon and its filtering database. However, database updates from NETGEAR are unsigned and downloaded via cleartext HTTP. As such, an attacker with the ability to perform a MitM attack on the device can respond to circled update requests with a crafted, compressed database file, the extraction of which gives the attacker the ability to overwrite executable files with attacker-controlled code. This affects R6400v2 1.0.4.106, R6700 1.0.2.16, R6700v3 1.0.4.106, R6900 1.0.2.16, R6900P 1.3.2.134, R7000 1.0.11.123, R7000P 1.3.2.134, R7850 1.0.5.68, R7900 1.0.4.38, R8000 1.0.4.68, and RS400 1.5.0.68.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.1, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network but requires specific conditions to be met without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 22 products from netgear, from netgear, from netgear and 19 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2021, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2021-09-21T18:15:07.377
2026-06-17T04:07:31.783
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 8.1 (HIGH)
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
8.6
10.0
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | netgear | r6400v2_firmware | 1.0.4.106 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r6400v2 | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | r6700_firmware | 1.0.2.16 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r6700 | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | r6700v3_firmware | 1.0.4.106 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r6700v3 | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | r6900_firmware | 1.0.2.16 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r6900 | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | r6900p_firmware | 1.3.2.134 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r6900p | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | r7000_firmware | 1.0.11.123 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r7000 | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | r7000p_firmware | 1.3.2.134 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r7000p | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | r7850_firmware | 1.0.5.68 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r7850 | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | r7900_firmware | 1.0.4.38 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r7900 | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | r8000_firmware | 1.0.4.68 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | r8000 | - | No |
| Operating System | netgear | rs400_firmware | 1.5.0.68 | Yes |
| Hardware | netgear | rs400 | - | No |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For netgear's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.