Security advisory published for ASUS router products

If you own one of the newer ASUS router models, ASUS strongly recommends updating the firmware to the latest version. A number of critical vulnerabilities have been identified, including the two most serious ones labeled CVE-2022-26376 and CVE-2018-1160. These vulnerabilities are rated 9.8 on a scale of 1 to 10. However, if you are using third-party ASUSwrt-Merlin firmware, you seem to be safe, as the author of the third-party firmware has already fixed all known vulnerabilities for which ASUS has announced patches.

A total of 18 different ASUS router models have been found to be affected by security vulnerabilities. These models include GT6, GT-AXE16000, GT-AX11000 PRO, GT-AX6000, GT-AX11000, GS-AX5400, GS-AX3000, XT9, XT8, XT8 V2, RT-AX86U PRO, RT-AX86U, RT-AX86S, RT-AX82U, RT-AX58U, RT-AX3000, TUF-AX6000 and TUF-AX5400. It is assumed that all of these models are equipped with Broadcom hardware. Although it is not clear if other ASUS router models are affected by the vulnerabilities, ASUS has released updates to fix the issues on these models.

It is advisable to check for firmware updates regularly to ensure that the router is protected. The existing vulnerabilities could allow a potential attacker to take over an unpatched router and include it in a botnet or similar malicious infrastructure. To minimize the risk, ASUS has recommended temporarily disabling certain features until the firmware of the affected models is updated. This includes features like DDNS and VPN servers, as well as obvious things like WAN access, port forwarding, port triggers and DMZ. It is important that ASUS users follow these recommendations and update their router firmware as soon as possible to ensure the security of their network. In addition, they should periodically check for further updates to ensure that their router is continuously protected.

Source: TechPowerUp