Netgear Exploit Found in 31 Models Lets Hackers Turn Your Router Into a Botnet (thenextweb.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: You might want to upgrade the firmware of your router if it happens to sport the Netgear brand. Researchers have discovered a severe security hole that potentially puts hundreds of thousands of Netgear devices at risk. Disclosed by cybersecurity firm Trustwave, the vulnerability essentially allows attackers to exploit the router's password recovery system to bypass authentication and hijack admin credentials, giving them full access to the device and its settings. What is particularly alarming is that the bug affects at least 31 different Netgear models, with the total magnitude of the vulnerability potentially leaving over a million users open to attacks. Even more unsettling is the fact that affected devices could in certain cases be breached remotely. As Trustwave researcher Simon Kenin explains, any router that has the remote management option switched on is ultimately vulnerable to hacks.

Comments

Re:Out of the box configuration

[drinkypoo]

Consumer routers should either require setup prior to use, with "remote access" off by default.

I have literally never seen a consumer router which has remote management turned on by default, neither with the original firmware nor community firmware. I am willing to believe that they exist, but I've even owned two or three Netgear APs and none of them had remote management activated by default either. Especially now that so many devices have an easy setup button, most people probably never actually go into their router config after following the included instructions to change the network name and maybe the channel.