Both 802.11n and 802.11ac base stations received updates

Dec 13, 2017 11:30 GMT  ·  By

Apple has released new firmware updates for its 802.11n and 802.11ac AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule base stations to address several security vulnerabilities.

The AirPort Base Station firmware update 7.6.9 is now available AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule base stations with 802.11n, and AirPort Base Station firmware update 7.7.9 is out for AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule base stations supporting the more advanced 802.11ac wireless standard.

A total of four security vulnerabilities were patched in the AirPort Base Station 7.6.9 and 7.7.9 firmware updates, including the infamous KRACK Wi-Fi security vulnerability that put virtually any smart device using the WPA2 security protocol to connect to the Internet at risk.

The KRACK (Key Reinstallation Attacks) vulnerability was disclosed two months ago by security researcher Mathy Vanhoef of the imec-DistriNet group at KU Leuven, and it could allow an attacker in the range of your Wi-Fi network to intercept any communication and expose sensitive information like credit card details or passwords.

The update also patches a memory corruption issue

The AirPort Base Station 7.7.9 firmware update for AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule base stations with 802.11ac also patches a memory corruption issue discovered by Nitay Artenstein of Exodus Intelligence, which could allow an attacker within the range of your wireless network to execute arbitrary code on the Wi-Fi chip.

Apple notes that it addressed the KRACK Wi-Fi vulnerability with improved state management, and the memory corruption issue with improved memory handling. Details about the patched security issues can be found in CVE-2017-9417, CVE-2017-13077, CVE-2017-13078, and CVE-2017-13080.

All owners of an AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme or AirPort Time Capsule base station using either the 802.11ac or 802.11n standard are urged to update their devices immediately to firmware 7.6.9 or 7.7.9, depending on the Wi-Fi standard supported by the AirPort base station.