(SOLVED) Upgrade old Linksys WRT54G with OpenWrt kamikaze 7.09

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Hi all,

I have recovered from my attic an old Linksys WRT54G v2 which I'd flashed with OpenWRT Kamikaze 7.09 years ago.
It works as such but there are a few drawbacks so I'd like to get it up to the latest possible release (10.03.1) but I haven't been able, from rtfming and googling, to find a definite guide as to how to go about this.

  • I don't have a web gui (I don't really care for it actually, I'd rather live in the cli).
  • I only have a very basic setup with root ssh / dropbear access (that's bad, but I was young and naïve when I did the initial setup, if I can't upgrade I'll secure it better as possible).
  • I don't have opkg. I haven't been able to determine whether I can even have opkg with kamikaze 7.09.
  • Documentation for kamikaze 7.09 is becoming scarce / obsolete.
    The documentation for upgrading via command line (https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/installation/sysupgrade.cli) refers to opkg, which I can't use as such. I haven't found a doc for sysupgrading via command line without opkg. Is this only possible. Is there a documentation on who to do this ?
    Thank you for your help.
2

Get a new router! There is no current, and supported, version of OpenWrt, which works on that router.

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3

There's no way that I can think of where running that router as WAN facing would not be a massive security risk due to it being stuck on OpenWrt 10.x. If you were going to utilize it at all, it would likely only be safe to utilize it as a smart switch to extend a LAN behind a WAN facing router.

  • This would require some research on your part as well, as whatever services you choose to utilize will still need to be thoroughly investigated to determine if certain services be cross compiled for OpenWrt 10.x with up to date sources, and if not, what are the CVEs and/or patches that have issued since then, what is their severity, and can certain patches be implemented manually.
4

Lol! Yeah, I'd considered that. However, for the use I need that router still works great, and it can be upgraded to 10.03.1, which could / might be better, security and functionality wise, and I hate throwing away working hardware, which is why I tried upgrading it.

5

mtd -r write /tmp/image.trx linux

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6

OK, thanks for your input. I haven't found a detailed list of the security issues with 10.03.1 appart from this: https://dev.archive.openwrt.org/ticket/10671 which looks pretty limited. Anyway, it is indeed behind a WAN facing router and acts solely as a smart switch to add a wireless network where the main router doesn't reach. I don't require any other services than the basics, routing, wireless, firewall... Pushing it dhcpd with static leases (but that's included by default) and fail2ban style security would be cool

7

@jow would be a better source, as I only have experience with OpenWrt going back to CC [15.x].

My thinking, which could be wrong, is you'll have to manually go through each service and check out the git commits, filtering by severity, manually addressing those which are pertinent to your usage.

8

OK thanks :slight_smile:

9

It may be a better option to run DD-WRT [v24], as their most recent image for the WRT54Gv2 is from 2018.10.10.

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10

OK, thanks, I hadn't considered that option. Do you reckon I can just mtd write their bin file from the cli ? Cheers.

11

https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-33/product_id-47/version_id-123102/Linux-Linux-Kernel-2.4.37.html

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12

Seriously you can get a glinet device for $20 that will provide you a wifi extension and runs current openwrt. Unless you value your time less than $5/hr it's probably a better bet than your ancient hardware. Also that up to date ddwrt sounds way better than ancient openwrt.

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13

NOPE, that version is eight years old and there were no updates for years. Also the 54gl is only capable of 11g, which means only 54 Mbit/s.

14

_https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/715142-hes-dead-jimits-dead-jim_

As highlighted in the posts above, there are good options available worldwide for the equivalent of about US$20 that are presently supported with current firmware, protocols, and security measures. These devices will run circles around a WRT54GL in terms of wireless performance and routing performance.

Any release more than a few months old at this point is riddled with security flaws that are being actively exploited. This includes both the firmware and the protocols (WPA2 prior to current patches is not secure).

See, for example

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