The Russian Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a warning about a serious vulnerability found in Keenetic routers, urging owners to strengthen security by changing passwords on important accounts. The warning appeared in the Russian Cyber Police Bulletin on the ministry’s official Telegram channel.
Keenetic reports the issue was identified in March 2023. An independent cybersecurity specialist alerted Keenetic to the possibility of unauthorized access to a mobile application database. After internal checks, the vulnerability was resolved. It was claimed that the researcher had provided data to developers and that the data was later deleted. Yet the case resurfaced two years later.
In March 2025 the CyberNews Project Team received information from an anonymous source with corrupted data samples. CyberNews experts confirmed the exposure of confidential information, including passwords for Wi-Fi networks, router configuration files, and internal manuals. Based on this evidence Keenetic published a public warning on its official site.
Security experts warn that attackers who hold encryption keys and other sensitive data from a long-standing repository can penetrate home and corporate networks. The majority of victims were in Russia. Localization analysis shows at least 943,927 Russian-speaking users affected, 39,472 English-speaking users, and 48,384 Turkish-speaking users.
In response to the threat, the Ministry of Internal Affairs urged Keenetic device owners to verify their equipment and take action. If Keenetic gear is in use, it is advised to change passwords across many important accounts and the Wi-Fi network, and to monitor network activity for suspicious signatures. Keeping firmware up to date and disabling remote management where possible are recommended.
Earlier in Chelyabinsk, law enforcement arrested an internet crime group involved in schemes worth millions of rubles.