By Pierluigi Paganini
Publication Date: 2026-10-19 00:36:00
16-Year-Old Broadcom Wi-Fi Bug Lets Attackers Take Over Routers Without a Password
October 19, 2026 
A Broadcom Wi-Fi flaw dating back to 2010 allows attackers within Wi-Fi range to execute code on vulnerable routers without authentication.
Researcher Quentin Kaiser presented a talk at Hexacon in Paris documenting a vulnerability in Broadcom’s proprietary 802.11 implementation that has been present in their SDK since at least 2010. The bug allows an attacker to get unauthenticated remote code execution on affected routers without knowing the WiFi password or going through the normal WPS setup process.
As of October 15, 2026, none of the affected devices in Belgium had received a patch.
“A vulnerability affecting Broadcom’s proprietary implementation of 802.11 has been present in their SDK since at least 2010. An incomplete patch was silently released in 2018, followed by Broadcom’s…
