Maybe the FCC was onto something: These routers are phoning home to China with a secret backdoor
Brief
TL;DR
- A new report details a massive security flaw in Zbtlink-made routers.
- The routers are programmed to ping a hard-coded list of servers, traced back to China.
- Once connected, the routers grant full root access — no authentication required.
This past spring, the FCC announced a sweeping ban on new foreign-made routers — like the kind you use to get online with your ISP and connect all your devices to Wi-Fi. This was all done in the name of national security, but just how real of a threat do routers pose?
The discovery of a new security vulnerability in some Chinese-made routers may have you looking at the FCC’s action in a slightly more sympathetic light.
Jacob Baines at VulnCheck shares his analysis of routers made by Zbtlink, sold under both that and Wiflyer branding.