Trustwave's 2024 Retail Report Series Highlights Alarming E-Commerce Threats and Growing Fraud Against Retailers. Learn More

Trustwave's 2024 Retail Report Series Highlights Alarming E-Commerce Threats and Growing Fraud Against Retailers. Learn More

Services
Managed Detection & Response

Eliminate active threats with 24/7 threat detection, investigation, and response.

Co-Managed SOC (SIEM)

Maximize your SIEM investment, stop alert fatigue, and enhance your team with hybrid security operations support.

Advisory & Diagnostics

Advance your cybersecurity program and get expert guidance where you need it most.

Penetration Testing

Test your physical locations and IT infrastructure to shore up weaknesses before exploitation.

Database Security

Prevent unauthorized access and exceed compliance requirements.

Email Security

Stop email threats others miss and secure your organization against the #1 ransomware attack vector.

Digital Forensics & Incident Response

Prepare for the inevitable with 24/7 global breach response in-region and available on-site.

Firewall & Technology Management

Mitigate risk of a cyberattack with 24/7 incident and health monitoring and the latest threat intelligence.

Solutions
BY TOPIC
Microsoft Security
Unlock the full power of Microsoft Security
Offensive Security
Solutions to maximize your security ROI
Rapidly Secure New Environments
Security for rapid response situations
Securing the Cloud
Safely navigate and stay protected
Securing the IoT Landscape
Test, monitor and secure network objects
Why Trustwave
About Us
Awards and Accolades
Trustwave SpiderLabs Team
Trustwave Fusion Security Operations Platform
Trustwave Security Colony
Partners
Technology Alliance Partners
Key alliances who align and support our ecosystem of security offerings
Trustwave PartnerOne Program
Join forces with Trustwave to protect against the most advance cybersecurity threats

ASUS Router Vulnerable to Fake Updates and XSS (CVE-2020-15498 & CVE-2020-15499)

Recently ASUS patched two issues I discovered in the RT-AC1900P router firmware update functionality. These vulnerabilities could allow for complete compromise of the router and all traffic that traverses it.

Finding 1: Update Accepts Forged Server Certificates (CVE-2020-15498)

The first vulnerability was about accepting untrusted (forged) certificates by the wget program used by the router to fetch the updates from ASUS servers. If you happen to have an ASUS RT-AC1900P using old firmware, you can log in via SSH and grep through the filesystem for a string:

--no-check-certificate

This will yield some shell scripts that perform downloads from the ASUS update servers. A malicious attacker could exploit this lack of certificate checking to force the install of malicious files. While the attacker would have to be adjacent network wise to the vulnerable router to perform the man in the middle attack (MITM), a successful attack could result in a full compromise of the router allowing for complete access to all traffic going through it. The latest firmware does not use this wget option anymore, so the MITM attack is no longer possible.

Finding 2: XSS in Release Notes Dialog Window (CVE-2020-15499)

The second bug ASUS fixed was a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Web Management interface related to firmware updates: the release notes page did not properly escape the contents of the page before rendering it to the user. This means that a legitimate administrator could be attacked by a malicious party using the first MITM finding and chaining it with arbitrary JavaScript code execution. Example of a fake release notes page for this attack:

</textarea>
<script>alert(document.cookie);</script>
<textarea>

ASUS fixed this in the latest firmware so that the release notes page no longer renders arbitrary contents verbatim.

Summary

Since routers like this one typically define the full perimeter of a network, attacks targeting them can potentially affect all traffic in and out of your network. ASUS patched this issue in firmware version 3.0.0.4.385_20253, so please patch as soon as you can.

Trustwave Advisory TWSL2020-004

ABOUT TRUSTWAVE

Trustwave is a globally recognized cybersecurity leader that reduces cyber risk and fortifies organizations against disruptive and damaging cyber threats. Our comprehensive offensive and defensive cybersecurity portfolio detects what others cannot, responds with greater speed and effectiveness, optimizes client investment, and improves security resilience. Learn more about us.

Latest Intelligence

Discover how our specialists can tailor a security program to fit the needs of
your organization.

Request a Demo