Apple updates Airport, Time Capsule firmware and software
updated 07:50 pm EST, Thu December 16, 2010
Updates for both Mac and Windows users
Apple has posted a firmware update for all 802.11n-capable Airport base stations and Time Capsules, as well as new versions of Airport Utility for Mac and Windows. The firmware update, labelled 7.5.2, closes several security holes as well as bolsters stability under IPv6. It also fixes issues with Airplay streaming, USB connectivity, addresses some issues with NAT port mapping and disables TKIP security for 802.11n in accordance with the Wi-Fi Alliance specifications.
The firmware update specifically addresses security issues CVE-2008-4309, CVE-2009-2189, CVE-2010-0039, CVE-2009-1574 and CVE-2010-1804, most of which deal with the Airport or Time Capsule's ability to maintain service and stability in the face of remote attacks. Exploits included an integer overflow error in SNMP, large-number packets in IPv6, a vulnerability in portmapped FTP services and DHCP and DDOS attacks.
Airport Utility 5.5.2 for Macs resolves a DHCP setting tab display issue, improves stability and fixes an issue that prevented a network password from being correctly stored in Keychain when the network on the 5GHz band was named differently to a network on the lower bands. It requires Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later and weighs in at 10.29MB.
Airport Utility 5.5.2 for Windows is also available, a 10.04MB update fixing the same issues as the Mac update. Apple recommends that the Airport Utility update be done prior to installing the 7.5.2 firmware update.
