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Netgear Users Advised by CERT to Stop Using These Routers Due to Critical Security Flaw

Netgear Users Advised by CERT to Stop Using These Routers Due to Critical Security Flaw

By Sanket Vijayasarathy | Updated: 12 December 2016 18:26 IST

Highlights

Netgear routers R7000, R6400, and R8000 affected
Flaw is trivial unless user is tricked into accessing a URL
Vulnerability is known as command injection

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) issued a warning stating that two of Netgear's routers - R7000 and R6400 - are potentially vulnerable due to a critical security flaw. CERT has warned users of these routers to discontinue their use until the flaw is fixed.

According to CERT's statement, the flaw is not dangerous unless the router owner is tricked into accessing a URL, which has been released publicly. An attacker can hide an exploit in a shortened URL, increasing the chance of tricking a user into opening the link.

On opening the link, the Netgear routers process the URL and the command is executed by the router. This vulnerability is known as command injection. An attacker can inject any command which is then executed by the system.

"The CERT/CC is currently unaware of a practical solution to this problem and recommends the following workaround," CERT said.

While the flaw has so far only been found in two of Netgear's routers running current or older firmware versions, CERT says that other routers may also be affected. Netgear on Sunday stated that it was aware of the vulnerability and also added R8000 to the list of vulnerable routers.

Router flaws have increasingly been susceptible to attackers. In September, F-Secure researchers discovered a critical vulnerability in some models of Inteno home routers, which, if exploited, could give an attacker complete control over the victim's device and any other devices connected to it.

Earlier in December, a cyber-attack on Britain's TalkTalk Telecom broadband using Mirai malware affected a number of customer routers. Additionally, Mirai was also used in October to cut off access to some of the world's best known websites, including Twitter and Spotify.

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