A serious security flaw has been discovered on 11 Netgear wireless routers, and it’s imperative a firmware patch is installed as soon as possible if you own one of the affected devices.
The Netgear routers that need a firmware update are:
- R6400v2
- R6700
- R6700v3
- R6900
- R6900P
- R7000
- R7000P
- R7850
- R7900
- R8000
- RS400
The easiest way to find out which Netgear router you own (the name and model number typically aren’t the same) is to look at either the back or base of your router where the model number will be listed. If yours is on the above list, head on over to Netgear’s Security Advisory page and follow the instructions on how to download the correct firmware. The download includes instructions on how to carry out the installation.
As Tom’s Guide reports, a serious security flaw has been discovered on these routers which allows for remote code execution. The vulnerability can be traced back to Disney, which will surprise just about everyone.
You may remember back in 2016 we got the Circle with Disney parental control software, which Netgear embraced and offered as an optional service with its routers for $4.99 a month. As the Grimm blog explains, even if you didn’t pay for it the Circle software was pre-installed on these routers and an update process for the software is enabled by default. It’s here where the vulnerability lies, allowing a hacker to use a Man-in-the-Middle attack to infiltrate your home network and take control.Thanks Disney!
