Slashdot Mirror
NetGear Also Has Remote Access Wide Open
Glenn Fleishman writes "On the heels of Linksys's WRT54G problem of not allowing remote access to be disabled in certain cases and firmware, BugTraq published this report that NetGear's WG602 access point has a hidden password that provides remote and local administrative control. Unlike Linksys's, where turning the firewall on (which is on by default, but a researcher found new units in which it was off when taken out of the box), the NetGear hole cannot be disabled. The backdoor seems to have been created by the vendor that packaged the device for NetGear."
you can turn off the external web interface on those things right? I guess that doesn't help if you're worried about crackers on your LAN but still, it may not be as bad as it sounds.
Undocumented = bad though,
"The backdoor seems to have been created by the vendor that used to package devices for NetGear"
SysWear - Geek T-shirts (UK/Europe)
http://kbserver.netgear.com/support_details.asp?dn ldID=735
I think everyone can agree that backdoor passwords are a BAD idea - makes one wonder what the internal policies are at these companies - and what happens when they do a source code audit after these are found and track down the programmers who put 'em in.
Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
For example firewalls:
Question 1: how do you know the box firewall you bought is secure and no backdoors?
Answer: normally you do not.
Question 2: Why do majority ofpeople buy those instead of making their own?
Answer: Because it is a lot more convinient
So instead of spending time to build something, most people want to just get something that works and thus have to just trust the vendors, as they do not have the skill/time/inclanation/will etc to do it themselves.
This number, surprisingly enough, is also the total amount of wooden furniture shipped from Malaysia to Bahrain in 1998. Conpsiracy! Conspiracy!
It's possible that that this goes on a whole lot more than we'd like to admit. Just yesterday I was talking to a friend who called Dell technical support about her BIOS password on an Inspiron 5000. She had forgotten it, and couldn't access her settings. Unlike the old days where you'd crack open the box and to the BIOS jumper switch, Dell provided her with a 6 character BIOS password that magically unlocked her system.
Nothing but the finest in meaningless drivel
best line i could think of was "why do you come back and try my new kernal on...
You should try my pick-up line: Excuse me miss, but does this rag smell like chloroform?
Works every time.
routers look better all the time. At least you have some control over it....if you're a geek anyway.
Which ones of the consumer products are safe? I'm running a D-Link wireless right now.Yes the encryption is on.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
Well. at least this username/password doesn't work with a WG302 with firmware 1.5.
Super! Now I just have to downlo
[CONNECTION DROPPED, REMOTE SIDE 0WN3D]
Please help metamoderate.
Netgear Firmware Upgrade
NetGear WGR614 is not affected by this bug. I'm going to try to get its firmware and follow the same procedure listed in that Bugtraq report to see what I can find.
Colin Dean Go a year without DRM
All your basestation are belong to us?
Man, takes all the fun out of these jokes when it's so easy.
Please help metamoderate.
The URL is "mangled" for people browsing with mobile devices. The space is added so tiny displays can word wrap the text. (And also so crapflooders can't make your horizontal scroll bar appear.)
Personally I think the number of people using such browsers is probably so small that there is no justification for this "feature", but since Slashdot isn't likely to change, URLs should be submitted as proper links and not just plan text.
I know this is a huge problem for the general public, but for those of us with a linux machine, do what I do and save yourself some trouble: put two network cards in the linux machine. Connect one to the internet and the other to your wireless router's normal ethernet ports (don't use the port that is supposed to be for the internet). Then, just set up your linux firewall/NAT, and you get all the benefits of wireless and a wired hub on the inside, with a linux machine doing the routing/firewalling for security from the outside. Since the router isn't on the net, no one can even touch it.
I tried this recently on my own unit. Works like a charm. Now that I'm really pissed, it looks like I'll might have to really complain through the courts by filing a motion with the intent to sue. Not only that, but get that old 500mhz p3 out of the closet and turn it into a router/NFS/SAMBA server and sell the POS netgear router on eBay.
/end_rant
That was the last straw. No more firmware based routers unless I make them myself, or use exsisting ones as wireless switch and really try to lock it down or use third party firmware.
learning how to make a linux router / NFS will be handy anyhow
These things usually sit behind a firewall, so you aren't in quite as bad shape as if it offering it's private parts to the general internet like the Linksys.
This isn't outsourcing in the sense that IBM outsources its programing and support staff. It's oursourcing in the sense that your Raleigh bicycle is actually a Giant with a Raleigh sticker on.
.
It isn't even really outsourcing in the sense that Dell oursources its video cards to ATI, its cpus to Intel and its CD drives to LG, which is all perfectly legitimate. Would you really expect Dell to make its cpus and capacitors?
You buy stuff and market it.
z-com is the actual manufacturer and they sell their products to marketers. Netgear just buys the stuff and resells it.
Just like you could go to z-com and have them slap some stickers on stuff for you to resell. Or Giant. Or whoever makes Levis and Calvin Klien jeans in China. Or. .
This isn't about "outsourcing." This about a marketing firm getting stuck with some bad product.
KFG
I don't believe in security through obscurity, but I also don't believe in publishing backdoor passwords. It's not like it has any educational value (unlike looking at some exploits, which helps programmers learn how to write code that's not vulnerable).
Am I part of the core demographic for Swedish Fish?
Just checked my WG602v2 and the factory firmware upgrade 2.0rc5 and they do not have the backdoor.
Whew!
If "disco" means "I learn" in Latin, does "discothèque" mean "I learn technology"?
ok, this is bad... but what i see as a far worse problem is that most oems dont bother setting passwords on windows xp installs.
i've even seen this happen on a thinkpad, and i would have thought ibm of all people to know better. i've seen this on a few venders before but i cant remember exactly which ones, has anyone else seem this happen before?
If 11Mbps is sufficient for your needs, you could by a 802.11b wireless card that uses the Prism 2.5 chipset. This chipset can function in hostAP mode. At home I use Netgear MA311 in an older Dell functioning as my wireless access point, internet gateway and firewall. Instead of WEP, I use IPSec, and only authorized IPSec traffic is allowed (and thus no leaching from my Kazaa loving neighbour).
You might need to flash the firmware, though, which you can find here.
If you want a secure, easy and hassle free gateway, just install OpenBSD.
Come on! These backdoors provide a convenient excuse when you're charged with breaking the law by accessing illegal content over your connection. If the vendor told you of their presence, you wouldn't be able to use them as a defense. Er wait, if you didn't know of them... hmmm...
Even the guy who reported it has admitted it and Linksys issued a statement.