Cybersecurity researchers successfully exploited critical zero-day vulnerabilities in two discontinued network security devices during DistrictCon’s inaugural Junkyard competition in February, earning runner-up recognition for Most Innovative Exploitation Technique.
The findings highlight the persistent security risks posed by end-of-life hardware that no longer receives security updates.
The research team from Trail of Bits targeted a Netgear WGR614v9 router and a BitDefender Box V1, both popular consumer devices originally designed to protect home networks.
Despite their security-focused purposes, years without manufacturer updates left these devices vulnerable to complete remote exploitation from within local networks.
Sophisticated Attack Chains Demonstrate EOL Risks
For the Netgear router, researchers developed three distinct exploitation methods targeting the device’s Universal Plug-and-Play (UPnP) daemon.
Their attack chain leveraged multiple vulnerabilities including authentication bypass, buffer overflows, and command injection to achieve remote root access.
One particularly innovative technique, dubbed “bashsledding,” adapted the classic nopsled approach by spraying shell commands into the router’s memory-mapped NVRAM and using space characters as “sleds” to ensure reliable code execution regardless of landing position.
The BitDefender Box V1 exploitation proved especially ironic, given the device’s original purpose as a network security appliance.
The researchers discovered an unauthenticated firmware downgrade vulnerability that allowed them to revert the device to older, more vulnerable firmware versions.
By combining this with command injection flaws in the firmware validation process, they achieved complete system compromise and persistent access.
The research team conducted thorough hardware analysis, accessing debug interfaces and extracting firmware from both devices.
For the Netgear router, they utilized the device’s UART serial port to gain low-level system access during boot processes.
The BitDefender Box required more sophisticated techniques, including direct firmware extraction from the device’s SPI flash chip using specialized programming equipment.
Particularly concerning was the BitDefender Box’s flawed update mechanism, which implemented cryptographic signature verification but lacked proper version validation.
This allowed the downgrade attack despite the presence of security measures that appeared robust on the surface.
The successful exploitations underscore growing concerns about Internet of Things (IoT) security lifecycles.
When manufacturers discontinue support for network devices, unpatched vulnerabilities remain indefinitely accessible to attackers, creating persistent security risks in home and business environments.
The researchers emphasized that their findings represent broader patterns in IoT security, noting that UPnP implementation flaws and inadequate firmware update protections are common across multiple manufacturers and device categories.
With DistrictCon’s second Junkyard competition announced for early 2026, the research team has published their complete technical analysis and exploit code on GitHub, encouraging further security research into end-of-life devices while raising awareness about the importance of considering device security lifecycles before purchase.
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