AirSnitch bypasses Wi-Fi client isolation in homes, offices and enterprises
Feb 27th 2026
New research shows AirSnitch can bypass client isolation by exploiting low level Wi‑Fi behaviors, enabling man in the middle attacks across consumer and enterprise networks despite encrypted links.
- Researchers say AirSnitch exploits Layer 1 and 2 desynchronization to nullify client isolation on Wi‑Fi networks.
- The attack enables a full bidirectional man in the middle that can view and modify victim traffic.
- AirSnitch does not break Wi‑Fi encryption but bypasses isolation using port stealing and MAC spoofing during handshakes.
- Researchers demonstrated vulnerabilities in routers from Netgear, D‑Link, Ubiquiti, Cisco, TP‑Link, ASUS and firmware like DD‑WRT and OpenWrt.
- An attacker typically needs access to at least one SSID or BSSID on the same AP or distribution system, and in some cases can leverage cross‑AP or Internet paths.
- Possible consequences include cookie and credential theft on unencrypted pages, DNS cache poisoning and exploitation of unpatched services.
- Mitigations include vendor firmware updates, VPNs or tethering for untrusted networks and adopting zero trust, though some fixes may require hardware or chipset changes.