Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-3703

Memory Safety in Wavlink Wl-Nu516U1 Firmware 251208

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
08 March 2026
Modified
10 March 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 8.9
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0082 54th percentile
Risk Priority 46 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2026-3703 is a high-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Wavlink Wl-Nu516U1 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 8.9 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 46% 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 SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — 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-2026-3703 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the Wavlink NU516U1 firmware version 251208, affecting the sub_401A10 function within the /cgi-bin/login.cgi file. The flaw is triggered by manipulating the ipaddr argument, as classified under CWE-119 and CWE-787. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8, reflecting its critical severity.

Remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity, requiring no privileges, authentication, or user interaction (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U). Successful exploitation enables high-impact compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H), potentially allowing arbitrary code execution or system takeover on affected devices.

Advisories recommend upgrading the affected component to the vendor-provided fixed firmware version, available at https://dl.wavlink.com/firmware/RD/WINSTAR_NU516U1-WO-A-2026-02-27-2fcf6ae-mt7628-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin. The vendor was contacted early, responded professionally, and promptly released the patch. Additional details are documented on VulDB at https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.349649 and https://vuldb.com/?id.349649.

A proof-of-concept exploit has been publicly disclosed on GitHub at https://github.com/Wlz1112/Wavlink-NU516U1-V251208-/blob/main/ipaddr.md and https://github.com/Wlz1112/Wavlink-NU516U1-V251208-/blob/main/ipaddr.md#exp-exploit--poc.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A flaw has been found in Wavlink NU516U1 251208. This affects the function sub_401A10 of the file /cgi-bin/login.cgi. Executing a manipulation of the argument ipaddr can lead to out-of-bounds write. The attack may be performed from remote. The exploit has…

more

been published and may be used. Upgrading the affected component is recommended. The vendor was contacted early, responded in a very professional manner and quickly released a fixed version of the affected product.

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.
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
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-2024-10194Same vendor: Wavlink
CVE-2024-8534Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-28391Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-38084Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-31247Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2024-11544Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-21633Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-28545Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2024-23356Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2024-0429Shared CWE-119, CWE-787

Affected Assets

wavlink
wl-nu516u1 firmware
251208

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)
  • V17.3.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and bounds checks) finds out-of-bounds write flaws before deployment.

Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.

Secure engineering principles require memory-safe design and coding that structurally avoids buffer-boundary violations.

Input validation directly enforces bounds checking that stops out-of-bounds reads/writes from being introduced or reached.

Memory protection restricts exploitation impact of buffer overflows without eliminating the underlying coding flaw.

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 SDLC practices (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.

prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References