NEWS: Broadcom flaw spawns wireless risk

Nov 16, 2006 1 Replies
NEWS: Broadcom flaw spawns wireless risk open original image

Security researchers have discovered a vulnerability

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in Broadcom wireless device drivers.



Flaws in handling 802.11 probe responses containing a long SSID field mean that systems that use the Broadcom BCMWL5.SYS wireless device driver are left open to buffer overflow attacks. The flaw might be used by hackers within radio range to inject hostile code into vulnerable systems. The list of potential targets (Broadcom partners) is extensive.



The flaw does not lend itself to remote attack across the internet but it does mean that hackers within radio range (for example when a user is in the vicinity of a hot spot used by an attacker) might be able be mount either a denial of service or code injection attack. Users are advised to turn off their wireless cards when not in use pending the availability of updates from Broadcom's partners.



The affected driver is bundled with new PCs from Dell, Gateway and HP among other computer manufacturers. Wireless card manufactures including Linksys also provide devices that ship with this driver. ...



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John Navas hath wroth:

Note that Linksys says it only uses the affected driver on one product, WPC300N:

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fix has already been issued but doesn't list the buffer overflow problem in the release notes. As mentioned, other drivers and versions may be affected.

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