CVE-2026-121616Linksys E5600 out-of-bounds write
CVE-2026-121616 is a out-of-bounds write in Linksys E5600, rated medium (5.5 on CVSS 4.0).
Why this priority: A public proof of concept exists and exploitation can be automated.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Deferred
What it is
Code writes past the end of a buffer, corrupting memory in ways an attacker can often turn into code execution. Code reads or writes outside the memory it was given, which can corrupt the process.
How it is reached
An attacker can exploit it over the network, without an account, and nobody has to click anything.
What an attacker gains
The direct impact is limited: partial access to data or a partial outage. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.
Is it being exploited?
CISA's SSVC assessment notes a public proof of concept. It can be exploited automatically, at scale. EPSS estimates a 0.30% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 23% of scored CVEs.
What to do
- No fixed version is listed yet. Find every place Linksys E5600 runs, watch the references for a fix, and plan a replacement if it is no longer supported.
- While there is no fix, keep it off the internet or behind a VPN, allowlist or authenticating proxy.
Description from NVD
A vulnerability was identified in Linksys E5600 1.1.0.26. Affected by this vulnerability is the function strcpy of the file /cgi-bin/mesh_login.cgi of the component JSON Request Parser. The manipulation of the argument username/password/token/source/cn/action leads to out-of-bounds write. The attack may be initiated remotely. The exploit is publicly available and might be used. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way. This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- Network edge devices: VPNs, firewalls, routers and gateways. They sit between the internet and internal networks, so a flaw in one is often the first step into everything behind it.
- Operating systems on servers, workstations or devices. Everything on the host inherits the flaw.
- Native code: operating systems, browsers and firmware. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.
- Network appliances and media or file parsers. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.
Trust boundaries in play
- Internet-facing entry points. No account is needed. Any instance reachable from outside your perimeter, through a load balancer, gateway, VPN or exposed admin port, is in scope.
- Wherever native code reads untrusted data. An attacker who crosses it can crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does Linksys E5600 run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which of those instances can be reached from the internet or partner networks?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.