Privilege escalation attacks are particularly dangerous as they allow attackers to bypass restrictions and security measures put in place to safeguard the system.
In a recent assessment, the Asus RT-N12 + B1 routers exhibit a severe vulnerability. They give unrestricted root terminal access via a serial interface without appropriate access control measures. This oversight enables malicious actors with physical access to the device to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges, posing a severe security risk.
Once escalated to the root level, attackers can manipulate system configurations, install malicious software, exfiltrate sensitive data, or even render the device entirely compromised, posing significant risks to both the network and the data it holds.
Any attacker with physical access to a router could exploit this report’s vulnerability and gain total control of it by exploiting its vulnerabilities, potentially compromising sensitive data stored or transmitted over its networks.
During our testing, we observed that upon booting the device and pressing the Enter key, log output was generated, indicative of the device’s UART functionality.
This log output confirms the presence of the vulnerability, highlighting the need for immediate action to address the lack of access control on the UART/Serial interface of the Asus RT-N12+ B1 router.
Privilege Escalation via Improper Credential Storage vulnerability is to implement least privilege principles and control access to sensitive interfaces.
Asus RT-N12+ B1 routers’ UART/Serial interface lacks access control, exposing a root terminal to unauthorized users. UART operates at TTL level, communicating at 57600 baud, enabling debugging and system monitoring. Physical access allows unrestricted access to device functionalities, posing a risk of arbitrary command execution.
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