Some Older Linksys Routers allow UPnP Configurable from the net


Recommended Posts

Some Older Linksys Routers allow UPnP Configurable from

update the firmware or disable UPnP immediately!

  Quote

Routers from various manufacturers support UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) on their WAN interfaces, which apparently makes it possible for attackers to reconfigure them remotely via the internet and, for example, misuse them as surfing proxies or to infiltrate internal LANs. The problem was discovered by IT security specialist Daniel Garcia, who has developed the Umap tool to demonstrate the problem; the tool is available to download free of charge.

Umap detects UPnP-enabled end devices such as DSL routers and cable modems on the internet by directly retrieving the devices' XML descriptions. The required URLs and ports for some models are hard-coded into the tool. This enables the software to bypass the usual restriction that only allows UPnP to search for compatible hardware via multicast in local networks. Garcia says that entire device series by Edimax, Linksys, Sitecom or Thomson (SpeedTouch) respond to UPnP requests on their WAN interfaces.

Since UPnP isn't designed to include any authentication, the XML description can always be retrieved. Garcia said that, by performing an internet scan, he managed to detect 150,000 potentially vulnerable devices within a short period of time. Once initial contact has been made, the scanner sends such UPnP commands as AddPortMapping or DeletePortMapping to the devices via SOAP requests. LAN devices usually use these commands to access the internet via NAT. However, the devices from the manufacturers in question allow the port to be opened ? and redirected to any other LAN device ? via the WAN interface. Umap attempts to guess the internal IP address that is required to do so.

http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/UPnP-enabled-routers-allow-attacks-on-LANs-1329727.html

  On 27/08/2011 at 19:43, littleneutrino said:

been disabled for rather some time. :p

Ya but what about the millions of users of Linksys routers that just plug it in and go.

  On 27/08/2011 at 19:46, HawkMan said:

Keeping upnp on because it's convenient, and keeping the firewalls on only computers because there's no reason to not have them on.

And overly sensationalist.

What if you were behind a linksys router, had UPnP and had folder shares setup on your network. Then a guy on the net configures your UPnP to allow folder shares accessible on the net?

  On 27/08/2011 at 19:32, warwagon said:

***WARNING!*** Linksys Routers UPnP is Configurable from the net

disable UPnP immediately!

For some reason this story isn't getting much press. Personally I think this is huge. I had a hard enough time just finding a site that talked about it.

maybe because it's not that big of a deal?

  On 28/08/2011 at 05:07, Ryoken said:

Anyone that has set all their shares to public, is an idiot.

Someone wants to get on my network feel free, you'll get to see that I have shares, but that's it.

The fact a someone on the net can configure your router from the outside and even see your shares should make you feel uneasy. Regardless if they can actually open the shares,

This isn't really a huge deal, because, as it was said before, there are plenty of computers out there not even behind a router. However having your ports open for anyone on the internet isn't a good idea. You could always be caught with a slightly outdated software or exploited with a zero day.

any newb knows not to enable UPnP....</joke>

Joking aside....what a bummer! I mean, I sit behind a netgear router as my primary gateway...a linksys I'm using as a switch...then a linksys I'm using as an access point, with multiple workstations on wifi...even a ps3...and still, don't have to worry about it. Life goes on....(least, for me anyway)

There's probably a large number of people that use Linksys routers with custom firmware. Newer firmware versions have a feature that says "UPnP clients are allowed to add mappings only to their IP". I'd imagine this would protect you from the kind of vulnerability talked about in the article.

Linksys will more than likely fix this in a firmware update. But now many "Average user" upgrade the firmware of their routers?

How many "Average user" also install custom firmware?

So my guess would be we have millions of average users with linksys routers out there that are non the wiser to this issue.

basically what I am getting at is that there are fewer with this issue than you think. Many routers do not enable upnp out of the box....I believe that there are more out there that do not than there are that do. I have run into less than a handful that have had this enabled out of the box. It is the gaming users (xbox, ps3, and possibly the wii users) that have this feature enabled...perhaps being that you have more experiance on the home side than I do in recent years you see different, but I am pretty sure that you have to enable this feature on most or all routers.

  On 29/08/2011 at 20:35, sc302 said:

basically what I am getting at is that there are fewer with this issue than you think. Many routers do not enable upnp out of the box....I believe that there are more out there that do not than there are that do. I have run into less than a handful that have had this enabled out of the box. It is the gaming users (xbox, ps3, and possibly the wii users) that have this feature enabled...perhaps being that you have more experiance on the home side than I do in recent years you see different, but I am pretty sure that you have to enable this feature on most or all routers.

Having to enable it, doesn't that defeat the purpose it was created for? I can see why home user routers would be on by default, and I could also see why business class routers would have it off by default.

  On 29/08/2011 at 20:43, warwagon said:

Having to enable it, doesn't that defeat the purpose it was created for?

how so? disabled for the majority, if you need it you enable it....it is a tick just like wpa is a tick to enable.

  On 29/08/2011 at 20:46, sc302 said:

how so? disabled for the majority, if you need it you enable it.

Ya, but they are Made for the 'Home users" Home users barely know where the address bar is, let alone how to log into their router and enable UPnP :cool:

I don't disagree with. If you need it turned on its a VERY easy thing to do. For the the home user, a not such an east thing to do.

  On 29/08/2011 at 20:48, warwagon said:

Ya, but they are Made for the 'Home users" Home users barely know where the address bar is, let alone how to log into their router and enable UPnP :cool:

very true and that is why you see many routers that have no wireless security and upnp disabled because they kept the defaults.

point being that although it is a flaw, the majority isn't succumed to this flaw being that they don't even know how to get in to it to check it's ip or if it is connected to the internet. the ones who this flaw is subject to are the people who know enough to enable it for whatever reason and should be keeping up on their security and updates.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • KDE's KClock is getting Wayland Picture-In-Picture support by David Uzondu The KClock app for KDE Plasma over the years has received a number of updates, like better integration with KRunner and a dedicated background service (kclockd) for managing alarms. Now, it looks like KDE devs want to add something cool: pop-out timers using the new Picture-in-Picture protocol for Wayland. Image: Kai Uwe Broulik This all started from a simple observation. Kai Uwe Broulik, a KDE developer, saw someone using a small timer window during a presentation and thought it was a good idea. The problem is that achieving this kind of "always on top" behavior is handled differently between the old X11 display server and the newer Wayland. With X11, an application could pretty much do whatever it wanted. If a program wanted to draw a drop-down menu, it would just create a borderless window, place it in a specific spot, and grab all user input. Wayland operates on a different philosophy. As Broulik notes, under Wayland, the application describes what it wants, and the compositor gets to decide how to handle it. A drop-down menu is an XDG Popup. The application tells the compositor which button spawned it, and the compositor handles the placement and behavior. This is much more secure and consistent. It also means an application cannot just decide to keep its window on top of everything else. This restriction prevents a web browser from implementing an overlay video player under Wayland. To get around this in a standardized way, a proper Wayland support model for Picture-in-Picture, or PiP, was needed. Enter the xx-pip-v1 protocol. It is a new protocol designed specifically for creating floating PiP windows, and KWin, Plasma's compositor, recently gained support for it. Because it is an experimental protocol, its use is gated behind an environment variable, KWIN_WAYLAND_SUPPORT_XX_PIP_V1. A new protocol is fine for demos, but it needs a real application to find its weaknesses. So Broulik implemented it in KClock. This work allows KClock to offer pop-out timers and even a pop-out stopwatch in a small PiP window. The user could get system-wide options to control where the PiP window appears, or if it appears at all, and have that setting apply to every single application that uses the protocol. You can check out the merge request on GitLab for more technical details about this feature.
    • Nothing of course; it is just a classic syndrome of MAGA pathology.
    • They use it to assessment's in the UK already. Have a friend who said they basically feed response's and prompt during assessment's for many mental health conditions now (essentially tick boxes these days enough ticks and you got it) the AI can prompt questions to ask if its unsure how to score something. It's really good at recognising fractures and broken bones also.
    • Look it more of another tool in your toolbox. The good doctors will use tools like this to aid in proper diagnostics and help their patients. There will be some doctors out there that will rely on it and never actually learn how to be a doctor. My wife deals with chronic illness, seizures, and MS. If this would help her doctors to get her on a better path to recovery, I'm all for it. She does take about 4-5 different medications daily and no one wants to play Russian roulette to figure out which meds she really needs.
    • I'm currently wearing Hoka Clifton 8.  It's a good shoe.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      CHUNWEI earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      TIGOSS earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      henryj earned a badge
      First Post
    • First Post
      CarolynHelen earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      henryj earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      479
    2. 2
      +FloatingFatMan
      196
    3. 3
      ATLien_0
      163
    4. 4
      Xenon
      81
    5. 5
      Som
      77
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!