Researchers from security firm Nozomi Networks have uncovered a critical vulnerability in third-party code libraries used by hundreds of vendors.
The vulnerability is a DNS poisoning flaw. DNS poisoning allows attackers to replace the legitimate DNS lookup for a site with malicious IP addresses that can disguise as the real sites as they try to install malware.
In this case, the flaw allows attackers with access to the connection between an affected device and the internet to poison DNS requests used to translate domains to IP addresses.
The flaw is located in uClibc and uClibc fork uClibc-ng. The two libraries provide alternatives to the standard C library for embedded Linux, Nozom.
According to the researchers, 200 vendors incorporate at least one of the libraries into wares including Linksys WRT54G- Wireless-G Broadband Router, NetGear WG602 wireless router, and most Axis network cameras, embedded Gentoo, Buildroot, LEAF Bering uClibc, and Tuxscreen Linux Phone.