CVE-2022-38956VulnerabilityPublished 20 Sep 2022Updated 28 May 2025

CVE-2022-38956: n/a

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 20% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 Sep 2022
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
n/a n/a	Affected <=1.1.9	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Avoid using the vulnerable firmware versions (1.1.1_1.1.9 and earlier) by upgrading to the latest firmware version provided by Netgear once available, or confirm with the vendor if a patch exists. 2) Enforce strict network segmentation to isolate management interfaces of WiFi range extenders from general user traffic, reducing the risk of MITM attacks. 3) Use secure management protocols (e.g., HTTPS, SSH) and ensure firmware updates are performed over encrypted and authenticated channels to prevent interception and tampering. 4) Monitor network traffic for unusual activities indicative of MITM attacks, such as unexpected ARP spoofing or rogue DHCP servers. 5) Educate IT staff and users about the risks of firmware downgrade attacks and the importance of verifying firmware integrity before installation. 6) Where possible, implement network-level protections such as DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, and port security to limit attacker capabilities within local networks. 7) Maintain an inventory of affected devices and prioritize their replacement or enhanced monitoring until patches are confirmed. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on network architecture and operational practices tailored to the nature of this downgrade vulnerability.

Description

An exploitable firmware downgrade vulnerability was discovered on the Netgear WPN824EXT WiFi Range Extender. An attacker can conduct a MITM attack to replace the user-uploaded firmware image with an original old firmware image. This affects Firmware 1.1.1_1.1.9 and earlier.

Impact

For European organizations, especially those relying on Netgear WPN824EXT WiFi Range Extenders in their network infrastructure, this vulnerability poses a risk to device integrity and network security. Compromised range extenders can serve as entry points for lateral movement within corporate networks, potentially exposing sensitive data or enabling further attacks. The downgrade attack could allow adversaries to bypass security enhancements introduced in newer firmware versions, increasing the likelihood of exploitation of other vulnerabilities. This is particularly concerning in environments with less secure or segmented network architectures, such as small and medium enterprises or branch offices. Additionally, the requirement for MITM positioning means that attackers with access to the local network or capable of intercepting traffic (e.g., via compromised WiFi or network devices) could exploit this vulnerability. The impact on confidentiality is minimal directly, but the integrity of the device and potentially the broader network is at risk. Disruption of device operation is unlikely but possible if malicious firmware is installed. Overall, this vulnerability could undermine trust in network infrastructure components and complicate incident response efforts.

CWE-354Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Medium
The product does not validate or incorrectly validates the integrity check values or "checksums" of a message. This may prevent it from detecting if the data has been modified or corrupted in transmission.
Implementation
Ensure that the checksums present in messages are properly checked in accordance with the protocol specification before they are parsed and used.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
REST Security (opens in a new tab)
JSON Web Token for Java (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V11.1.7 (opens in a new tab)
V13.3.2 (opens in a new tab)
V3.5.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Checksum Spoofing (opens in a new tab)
Padding Oracle Crypto Attack (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Writeable Configuration Files (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 7 Jul 2025, 07:55 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-354

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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