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DNS Automatic Registration Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the way some small office/home office (SOHO) routers implement automatic Domain Name System (DNS) registration and discovery has been disclosed by the CERT Coordination Centre.
Threat ID:
CC-2656
Category:
Exploit
Threat Severity:
Low
Threat Vector:
Published:
7 September 2018 12:00 AM
Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

This content has been archived

This article no longer conforms to NHS Digital's standards for cyber alerts, and may contain outdated or inaccurate information. Use of this information contained in this page is at your own risk

Summary

A vulnerability in the way some small office/home office (SOHO) routers implement automatic Domain Name System (DNS) registration and discovery has been disclosed by the CERT Coordination Centre.

Affected platforms

The following platforms are known to be affected:

SOHO routers

  • SOHO routers - A full list of affected platforms can be found here.

Threat details

A local attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain access to or alter data sent across the local network.

The vulnerability lies in how some SOHO routers assign DNS records to LAN-based devices with Proxy AutoConfiguration using the WPAD method. If the device has the name 'WPAD', for example, it will be treated as a proxy for the local network. It is understood that this vulnerability could also be exploited using other device names, including 'autoconfig' or 'autodiscovery'.

For further information:

Remediation steps

Type Step
Users should ensure their SOHO routers do not auto-register any local auto-configuration related DNS names. Multicast DNS (mDNS) names should not be accepted as authoritative sources by auto-discovery features.

Last edited: 2 November 2020 4:31 pm