Pre-N/Draft-N Stability Questions

**af3** · 07-23-2008, 05:55 AM

I must examine the specifications of wireless routers. Do they actively reject an invalid WPA key or do they just ignore the incorrect key? I have many questions about this including:

- Can a flood of bad WPA keys cause a buffer overrun in weak/cheap or unfinalized hardware/firmware?
- Can a specially crafted WPA key or authentication packet have an effect similar to an SQL injection?

I ask these questions not to spark a hacking discussion, but a discussion about how solid consumer WIFI products really are.

Are they subjected to extensive testing by the companies who develop them? One would hope so, but the trend of cheap electronics is discouraging and leads me to think the opposite is true about the security of consumer WIFI devices.

Given the proprietary nature of most firmware, there could be many fatal flaws just waiting to be found, but the same is true with anything proprietary.

johnwill · 07-24-2008, 05:55 AM

The only way to know any of those answers is to actually test the hardware/firmware combinations in question. As far as the tests, I'd contact the manufacturers and ask what kind of tests they do on new releases of hardware and firmware.

07-23-2008, 05:55 AM	#1 (permalink)
af3 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: USA Posts: 757 OS: Windows XP SP3 My System	Pre-N/Draft-N Stability Questions I must examine the specifications of wireless routers. Do they actively reject an invalid WPA key or do they just ignore the incorrect key? I have many questions about this including: - Can a flood of bad WPA keys cause a buffer overrun in weak/cheap or unfinalized hardware/firmware? - Can a specially crafted WPA key or authentication packet have an effect similar to an SQL injection? I ask these questions not to spark a hacking discussion, but a discussion about how solid consumer WIFI products really are. Are they subjected to extensive testing by the companies who develop them? One would hope so, but the trend of cheap electronics is discouraging and leads me to think the opposite is true about the security of consumer WIFI devices. Given the proprietary nature of most firmware, there could be many fatal flaws just waiting to be found, but the same is true with anything proprietary. __________________ You are currently using 0 MB (0%) of your 7171 MB, what's wrong with you? Last edited by af3 : 07-23-2008 at 05:57 AM.

07-24-2008, 05:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 31,291 OS: XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Pre-N/Draft-N Stability Questions The only way to know any of those answers is to actually test the hardware/firmware combinations in question. As far as the tests, I'd contact the manufacturers and ask what kind of tests they do on new releases of hardware and firmware. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience