Threats / D-Link / CVE-2021-45382
CVE-2021-45382
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
D-Link Multiple Routers vulnerability
Remote code execution in D-Link routers via DDNS function in ncc2 binary. Exploited in the wild with high EPSS score.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
Unauthenticated remote attackers can execute arbitrary code on affected D-Link routers through the DDNS functionality. Active exploitation observed in the wild. Immediate patching recommended for all impacted hardware revisions.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-04-044EPSS 0.97643 (verify live)5CVSS 9.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total3Exploit Public PoC / detection · nuclei template11
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
683 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-04-04).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.97643 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 9.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: D-Link, Multiple Routers. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-78 OS Command Injection — weakness family: Injection.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 46 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a public proof-of-concept / detection template). Catalog entries: nuclei template. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
Probe router DDNS service for accessibility and version fingerprinting.
Business
Exposed DDNS interface increases attack surface and enables reconnaissance.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
Craft malicious input to ncc2 binary DDNS handler to trigger command injection.
Business
Arbitrary code execution allows attacker to establish persistent presence on network edge device.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
Execute commands with router privileges to modify configurations or deploy malware.
Business
Compromised router becomes pivot point for lateral network movement and data exfiltration.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
Maintain access through backdoors or credential harvesting from connected devices.
Business
Long-term compromise of network perimeter undermines security posture and enables advanced threats.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05