Vulnerabilities Revealed in AT&T Modems

Vulnerabilities Revealed in AT&T Modems

Gaping security holes have been discovered in most AT&T U-verse cable modems that would allow remote cyber criminals to access a household’s internet connection as well as any devices connected to it.

Gaping security holes have been discovered in most AT&T U-verse cable modems that would allow remote cyber criminals to access a household’s internet connection as well as any devices connected to it, Infosec consulting firm Nomotion revealed in a new blog post.

According to the Register, the vulnerabilities cause potential harm to nearly 140,000 broadband modems.

“For those familiar with the technical history of Arris and their careless lingering of hardcoded accounts on their products, this report will sadly come as no surprise,” the Nomotion post said. “For everyone else, prepare to be horrified.”

Researchers said it is uncertain whether the security flaws were introduced by Arris, the company responsible for building the modems, or if they were added after delivery to AT&T – since their engineers have the ability to add and customize code running on the devices before putting them in customers’ hands.

The findings claim that the Arris modems carry hard-coded credentials which allowed a firmware update to turn on its Secure Shell (SSH) by default. This would allow a remote hacker to access the modem’s cshell service which includes capabilities such as “viewing/changing the WiFi SSID/password, modifying the network setup and re-flashing the firmware from a file served by any tftp server on the Internet.”

The specific modems which were found to contain the bugs are the Arris NVG589 and NVG599, which Nomotion said are provided as standard customer premises equipment for AT&T U-verse customers.

Technicalities of each of the five vulnerabilities are detailed in the post. It said the most prevalent and potentially dangerous vulnerability, based solely on the high number of affected devices, is a firewall bypass. Essentially, the only thing protecting an AT&T U-verse internal network device from the internet is whether or not a hacker knows or is able to “brute-force” the MAC address of any of its devices.

Nomotion hopes “that the problems will be swiftly patched and that going forward, peer reviews and/or vulnerability testing on new releases of production firmware will be implemented prior to pushing it to the gateways.” In the meantime, the post includes detailed instructions for various self-mitigation techniques that AT&T customers may use as workarounds for the vulnerabilities.

An Arris representative told Threatpost the company is verifying the details of the firm's report.

“Until this is complete, we cannot comment on its details,” Arris said in a statement to Threatpost. “We can confirm Arris is conducting a full investigation in parallel and will quickly take any required actions to protect the subscribers who use our devices.”

Featured

  • Video Surveillance Trends to Watch

    With more organizations adding newer capabilities to their surveillance systems, it’s always important to remember the “basics” of system configuration and deployment, as well as the topline benefits of continually emerging technologies like AI and the cloud. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services
  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

New Products

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.