Multiple Netgear devices contain a stack buffer overflow in the httpd web server’s handling of upgrade_check.cgi, which may allow for unauthenticated remote code execution with root privileges.
Many Netgear devices contain an embedded web server, which is provided by the httpd process, to provide administrative capabilities. On multiple Netgear devices, this code fails to properly validate the header size provided to the upgrade_check.cgi handler. Despite copying the header to a fixed-size buffer on the stack, the vulnerable code copies an attacker-provided count of bytes from attacker-provided data. This allows for remote code execution by way of stack buffer overflow.
By convincing a user to visit a malicious or compromised website, a remote, unauthenticated attacker maybe able to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable device with root privileges.
It has been reported that there is a virus called Glupteba on Windows PCs that exploits the vulnerability.
Recommendations
NETGEAR strongly recommends that you download the latest firmware as soon as a firmware update or firmware hotfix is available for your product.