[duaneb]

Wow, I never realized operators couldn't push fixes to their routers without permission. The internet is indeed a tragedy of the commons: trivial to ruin, but a Sisyphean task to fix.

[njharman]

Most admins would consider having network infrastructure's firmware change outside of their control a bug/misfeature. Not to mention most devices would require reboot to apply change.

And to be able to remotely change the code running a HUGE security issue.

[kalleboo]

The vast majority of admins don't even know that they're admins. They bought or received a cheap Netgear router, plugged it in, and never touched it again, except to maybe turn it off and on again when the internet was slow/down.

If you're an admin who cares about their infrastructure, you're not using a bargain-basement Netgear router, and if you are, you'll have gone through every single menu and seen the auto-update option.

[duaneb]

Sure. It's also why the internet is super vulnerable to 0-days.

[_delirium]

Some operators do, mostly ISPs that lease routers to customers and retain a way to push firmware updates to them (for example, Comcast does this). But router manufacturers typically don't touch the device once it's out of their hands.

[jlgaddis]

Note that cable modems (all of them, not just from Comcast) download their configuration from the provider every time they boot up. Ironically (since it uses TFTP, for one), this is called "secure provisioning".

They might give you a web interface where you can configure certain settings (e.g. integrated Wi-Fi) but the ISP ultimately has at least some control over any cable modem connected to it.