Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-42812

Memory Safety in Dlink Dir-860L Firmware 2.0.3

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
19 August 2024
Modified
17 March 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.16 96th percentile
Risk Priority 89 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-42812 is a critical-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Dlink Dir-860L Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2024-42812 is a buffer overflow vulnerability in the D-Link DIR-860L router running firmware version 2.03. The flaw stems from missing length validation on the SID parameter supplied to the gena.cgi endpoint, which is implemented under CWE-120.

An unauthenticated attacker with network access can send a crafted HTTP request containing an oversized SID value. Successful exploitation results in a crash of the affected device or execution of arbitrary commands with full system privileges, corresponding to the CVSS 9.8 rating that reflects no required authentication or user interaction.

The vendor has published a security bulletin addressing the issue, although no specific firmware update or configuration workaround is detailed in the available references. A public proof-of-concept has also been released.

The EPSS score for this CVE currently stands at 0.3886 with an identical peak value, indicating sustained but not rapidly increasing exploitation interest since disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In D-Link DIR-860L v2.03, there is a buffer overflow vulnerability due to the lack of length verification for the SID field in gena.cgi. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can cause the remote target device to crash or execute arbitrary…

more

commands.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-9026Same product: Dlink Dir-860L
CVE-2025-45058Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2023-39750Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2024-9559Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2024-1786Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2023-39666Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2024-41611Same product: Dlink Dir-860L
CVE-2024-9532Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2024-9915Same vendor: Dlink
CVE-2025-50665Same vendor: Dlink

Affected Assets

dlink
dir-860l firmware
2.0.3

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and analysis can find missing size checks before deployment.

Input validation directly enforces size checks before buffer copies.

Engineering principles require bounds checking and safe buffer handling in design.

Memory protection limits the impact of an overflow once it occurs.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.

finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect buffer overflows through fuzzing and static analysis, though it does not prevent them at the source.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates processes that can include input validation and bounds checking to prevent buffer overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify input-size validation and safe buffer handling to mitigate classic buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles promote defensive coding patterns that reduce the likelihood of unchecked buffer copies.

References