Cybersecurity researchers have identified a cluster of 22 new vulnerabilities, collectively codenamed BRIDGE:BREAK, impacting popular serial-to-IP converters manufactured by Lantronix and Silex.
These devices are heavily used in industrial, medical, and enterprise environments to connect legacy serial equipment (like RS-232/RS-485 interfaces) to modern IP networks. The vulnerabilities range in severity and could allow remote attackers to completely hijack the devices, intercept or tamper with data in transit, or launch denial-of-service attacks. Scans indicate nearly 20,000 of these converters are directly exposed to the internet globally.
How to check if you’re affected
Organizations utilizing Lantronix or Silex serial-to-IP converters should assume they are impacted.
- Affected models: Various Lantronix and Silex serial-to-device networking gateways and converters.
- Check your exposure: Review external attack surfaces to identify any serial-to-IP converters exposed directly to the internet.
- Mitigation: Ensure these devices are placed behind firewalls or VPNs, restrict access using strong authentication, and apply vendor firmware updates immediately once available.