What is the critical vulnerability found in ASUS routers?

A high-severity bug in Broadcom chipset software allows denial-of-service attacks on ASUS routers by sending malformed Wi-Fi traffic.

Which ASUS router models are affected by the Wi-Fi vulnerability?

The ASUS RT-BE86U is confirmed vulnerable, and other models using the same Broadcom wireless chipset may also be affected.

How can a denial-of-service attack impact my ASUS router?

The attack can make your router's 5G network unresponsive, disconnect all clients, and require a manual restart to restore service.

Home / Technology / ASUS Router Vulnerability Leaves Wi-Fi Networks Unstable

ASUS Router Vulnerability Leaves Wi-Fi Networks Unstable

20 Jan

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Summary

A high-severity bug (8.4/10) in Broadcom chipset software impacted ASUS routers.
Malicious actors could trigger denial-of-service attacks by sending malformed Wi-Fi traffic.
The ASUS RT-BE86U was confirmed vulnerable; other models may be affected.

ASUS Router Vulnerability Leaves Wi-Fi Networks Unstable

A critical bug affecting Broadcom chipset software has been discovered, with the ASUS RT-BE86U router confirmed as vulnerable. Security researchers identified that malformed 802.11 (Wi-Fi) protocol traffic could trigger denial-of-service attacks, causing the router to crash and become unresponsive.

This vulnerability allows an attacker to send a single malicious frame, leading to the 5G network becoming inaccessible to all clients. Connections on the 5G network would be terminated and could not be re-established until the router was manually restarted. Notably, the 2.4 GHz network and Ethernet connections were not affected.

Broadcom has since developed a patch for this issue, which received a severity score of 8.4/10. While the ASUS RT-BE86U is the only model confirmed vulnerable so far, researchers warn that other devices using similar Broadcom wireless chipsets and software may also be susceptible. Customers are advised to contact Broadcom for specific details on affected products and fixes.