CVE-2024-26342 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in the ASUS AC68U router firmware version 3.0.0.4.384.82230. The flaw is a null pointer dereference occurring in the usr/sbin/httpd component, which is the HTTP daemon responsible for handling web-based management interfaces and possibly other HTTP services on the device. This vulnerability can be triggered remotely by an unauthenticated attacker sending a specially crafted network packet to the affected device. The null pointer dereference leads to a denial-of-service (DoS) condition, causing the httpd process to crash or become unresponsive, which in turn can disrupt the router's web management interface and potentially impact network traffic routing or other dependent services. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 reflects the vulnerability's ease of exploitation over the network without any privileges or user interaction, and its impact is limited to availability, with no direct confidentiality or integrity compromise. No patches or known exploits in the wild have been reported at the time of publication. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), a common programming error that can lead to system crashes or instability. Given the critical role of the httpd service in router management, exploitation could result in temporary loss of administrative access and network disruption until the device is rebooted or the service is restored.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-26342 primarily involves potential network disruption and loss of router management capabilities. Organizations relying on ASUS AC68U routers for critical network infrastructure could experience service outages or degraded network performance if attackers exploit this vulnerability to cause repeated DoS conditions. This could affect business continuity, especially for small and medium enterprises or branch offices that use consumer-grade or SOHO routers without advanced redundancy. While the vulnerability does not allow data theft or manipulation, the loss of availability can hinder operational efficiency and delay incident response or network configuration changes. Additionally, if attackers combine this DoS with other attack vectors, it could facilitate further exploitation or lateral movement within the network. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk, but the ease of remote exploitation without authentication means that targeted or opportunistic attacks could emerge quickly once exploit code becomes available.

1. Immediate mitigation should include restricting remote access to the router's management interface by disabling WAN-side HTTP/HTTPS access or limiting it to trusted IP addresses via firewall rules. 2. Network segmentation should be employed to isolate management interfaces from general user traffic and the internet. 3. Monitor router logs and network traffic for unusual HTTP requests or repeated crashes of the httpd process, which may indicate exploitation attempts. 4. Regularly reboot routers as a temporary measure to restore service if a DoS condition occurs. 5. Contact ASUS support or monitor official channels for firmware updates addressing this vulnerability and apply patches promptly once available. 6. Consider deploying intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) capable of detecting anomalous HTTP traffic patterns targeting router management services. 7. For organizations with multiple sites, implement centralized network management solutions that can detect and remediate device outages quickly. 8. Educate IT staff about this vulnerability to ensure rapid response and containment in case of exploitation.