Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered two authentication bypass vulnerabilities in open-source Wi-Fi software found on Android, Linux , and ChromeOS. These flaws can trick users into connecting to a malicious copy of a legitimate network or allow an attacker to connect to a trusted network without a password.
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The Wi-Fi vulnerabilities, with identifiers CVE-2023-52160 and CVE-2023-52161, were discovered after a security assessment of wpa_supplicant and Intel's iNet Wireless Daemon (IWD), respectively on Android and Linux devices.
According to Top10VPN, which conducted new research in collaboration with Mathy Vanhoef, the Wi-Fi vulnerabilities “allow attackers to trick victimsinto connecting to clones of trusted networks and intercept their traffic, and connect to secure networks without the need for a password.” Mathy Vanhoef, who has previously discovered Wi-Fi attacks such as KRACK, DragonBlood , and TunnelCrack, reported this information.
CVE-2023-52161 allows an attacker to gain unauthorized access to a protected Wi-Fi network, exposing existing users and devices to potential attacks such as malware infection, data theft, and business email compromise. This affects IWD versions 2.12 and lower.
On the other hand, CVE-2023-52160 affects versions 2.10 and earlier of wpa_supplicant. It is also the more critical of the two Wi-Fi vulnerabilities due to the fact that it is the default software used on Android devices to process connection requests to wireless networks, but it also affects Linux devices.
See also: How to easily share your Wi-Fi password
The vulnerability only affects Wi-Fi clients that are not properly configured to verify the server , however, CVE-2023-52161 affects any network that uses a Linux device as a wireless access point (WAP).
Successful exploitation of CVE-2023-52160 relies on the attacker having the SSID of a Wi-Fi network that the victim has previously connected to. Additionally, the threat actor is required to be in physical proximity to the victim.
Major Linux distributions, including Debian ,, Red Hat, SUSE Ubuntu , and have issued advisories for both flaws. The wpa_supplicant issue has also been fixed in ChromeOS since version 118, but updates for Android have not yet been released.
See also: How do hackers use public WiFi to steal your data?
How can a secure Wi-Fi connection be achieved?
Securing your connection from Wi-Fi vulnerabilities, both on Android and Linux devices, can be achieved through several methods. First, it is necessary to use a strong and unique password for your Wi-Fi network. This can prevent access by unauthorized individuals. Second, using WPA2 or WPA3 technology to encrypt your Wi-Fi data can help protect your connection from attacks. Third, disabling the WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) feature can prevent attacks that exploit this vulnerability. Fourth, changing the default router name and password can prevent attacks that rely on known manufacturer defaults. Finally, updating your router software to the latest version can help protect against vulnerabilities that have been discovered and fixed.
Source: thehackernews
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