Friday, 03 March 2017 / Published in Blog

MikroTik RouterOS

What is RouterOS

RouterOS is the operating system of RouterBOARD

It can also be installed on a PC and will turn it into a router with all the necessary features – routing, firewall, bandwidth management, wireless access point, backhaul link, hotspot gateway, VPN server and more.
You can compare the different license Level features on this page in our manual.

Installing RouterOS on an x86 machine is very simple

PC: Download the ISO image, burn it to CD and boot from it. Your new router will run for 24 hours without a license (turn it off to stop the timer). During this time you can try all the features of RouterOS.
Other x86: Netinstall will write RouterOS to any secondary drive you have attached to your Windows PC. Move the drive to your Router PC and boot it.Both installation methods, plus upgrade files and more – on MikroTik download page.

ASK US FOR 30 DAYS TRIAL MIKROTIK HOST

Virtual environments now have special treatment: CHR

CHR, short for Cloud Hosted Router, is a new approach specifically made for Virtual Machines both locally and in the cloud. Optimised drivers, a new and more affordable licensing scheme, transferable licenses and more.
CHR is a special installation image, which is available for free on our download page, or directly in the Amazon AWS marketplace. Read mode in the PDF brochure.

Learning more about our software

RouterOS has extensive documentation.
MikroTik Certification Courses; MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, MTCINE, MTCUME
Workshops and Events
WirelessNetware also provides any technical support related to MikroTik RouterOS.

Purchasing a license for RouterOS

To use RouterOS after the free trial, a license key is required. You can obtain license keys in the MikroTik Account server. If you don’t have an account yet, click on “New Account” there in the top-right corner of this page.
When purchasing the license, a SoftID number will be asked – this can be copied from the router’s License menu.
To view license key level differences, see the comparison table.

Important notes about MikroTik RouterOS

Make sure to use correct RouterOS package to update your router.
Before doing any RouterOS update read change-log.
RouterOS “Bug-fix” version is usually the best OS.
If you want to use RouterOS “current” version it is recommended to read change-log for RouterOS “Release candidate” and make sure there is no bug for the features already used in your router.
RouterOS “Release candidate” is usually used when MikroTik developer are working on a new feature to add to RouterOS or else to fix the possible bug.
RouterOS “Current” is not fully tested.
NETINSTALL is used when you forger your Router password, install new RouterOS, lost RouterOS, kernel fail issue.

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Mēris botnet
In early September 2021 QRATOR labs published an article about a new wave of DDoS attacks, which are originating from a botnet involving MikroTik devices. As far as we have seen, these attacks use the same routers that were compromised in 2018, when MikroTik RouterOS had a vulnerability, that…
Fragattacks
In beginning of May 2021, a security research group from Belgium published a set of vulnerabilities they call "Frag Attacks" (from Fragmentation Attack), which affect all modern security protocols of Wi-Fi. Not all the published issues affect MikroTik products, but those that were found to be potentially affecting RouterOS, have…
Upgraded package signatures
The RouterOS package signing procedure has been upgraded, to use new algorithms and utilize state of the art security hardware. It will also add a possibility to verify the integrity of existing installations. The new updated package signing procedure provides additional security to prevent installation of malicious software. Best security practices: Keep RouterOS updated…
MUM EUROPE AND OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS - POSTPONED!
In compliance with our commitment to ensure the safety of our clients, partners, staff, and visitors at all MikroTik events, we have no other choice but to postpone our upcoming events: MUM Europe in Prague, Czech Republic (March 26-27) MTCSA in Riga, Latvia (March 23-24) Train the Trainer in Riga, Latvia (March 30…
DNS cache poisoning vulnerability
Tenable has identified a vulnerability in RouterOS DNS implementation. RouterOS 6.45.6 and below is vulnerable to unauthenticated remote DNS cache poisoning via Winbox. The router is impacted even when DNS is not enabled. One possible attack vector is via Winbox on port 8291 if this port is open to untrusted networks.…
Package validation and upgrade vulnerability
Tenable has identified a couple of issues with RouterOS packaging and upgrade systems. The upgrade system used by RouterOS 6.45.5 and below is vulnerable to man in the middle attacks and insufficient package validation. An attacker can abuse these vulnerabilities to downgrade a router's installed RouterOS version, possibly lock the…
CVE-2019-11477, CVE-2019-11478, CVE-2019-11479
Summary Netflix has identified several TCP networking vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel that is used in RouterOS. The vulnerabilities can trigger denial of service if the RouterOS system is attacked from an insufficiently protected network interface (port). Firewall can protect against the issue. MikroTik has already applied the necessary patches: fix included in…
CVE-2019-3981
Summary Tenable has published a potential vulnerability in older RouterOS versions where an attacker can retrieve the password hash of a RouterOS username via a complex man-in-the-middle attack over port 8291. The attacker must be able to intercept a valid RouterOS user login attempt, so he must be located in the…
CVE-2018-19298 CVE-2018-19299 IPv6 resource exhaustion
Summary RouterOS contained several IPv6 related resource exhaustion issues, that have now been fixed, taking care of the above-mentioned CVE entries. The first issue caused the device to reboot if traffic to a lot of different destination addresses was routed. The reboot was caused by watchdog timer since the device was overloaded…
MikroTik accelerates the adoption of 60 GHz technologies with Terragraph
Press Release. 25 February 2019 Riga, Latvia - MikroTik is announcing a collaboration with Facebook to build high-speed connectivity solutions with Terragraph, helping to accelerate the adoption of 60 GHz fixed wireless access technologies to deliver gigabit services and connect more people, faster. The 60 GHz band allows high-speed broadband connectivity…

MikroTik RouterOS

What is RouterOS

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