TRENDNet

NetUSB, IoT and Supply Chain Risk

If you want an object lesson in the dangers that await us on the Internet of Things, check out SEC Consult’s write up on NetUSB, a widely used technology developed by an obscure Taiwanese company that just happens to contain a nasty, remotely exploitable vulnerability. According to this alert, published on Tuesday, NetUSB “suffers from a remotely exploitable kernel stack buffer overflow” that could be used to run malicious code on affected devices. Even worse: the NetUSB component is ubiquitous – found in a long list of devices, from low-end wireless access points and broadband routers for small office and home office deployments to what SEC Consult called “high end devices…released very recently.” Networking devices from 26 vendors, including TP-Link, NetGear and others were found to use the NetUSB technology in their products. The vulnerability discovered by SEC Consult is straight-forward enough. According to their advisory, the NetUSB code does an inadequate […]

Update – Virtual Vandalism: Firm Warns Of Connected Home Security Holes

[This story was updated to include response from Belkin describing its response to the vulnerabilities identified by IOActive, including firmware updates. – PFR Feb 19, 2014] A researcher with the respected security firm IOActive says that he has found a number of serious security holes in home automation products from the firm Belkin that could allow remote attackers to use Belkin’s WeMo devices to virtually vandalize connected homes or as a stepping stone to other computers connected on a home network. In a statement released on Tuesday, IOActive researcher Mike Davis said that his research into Belkin’s WeMo technology found the “devices expose users to several potentially costly threats, from home fires with possible tragic consequences down to the simple waste of electricity.” IOActive provided information on Davis’s research to the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT), which issued an advisory on the WeMo issues on Tuesday.  Belkin did not […]