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Powerline AV600 Wi-Fi Unit Bridging Into Neighbor’s Network Without Pairing — Security Concern

Powerline AV600 Wi-Fi Unit Bridging Into Neighbor’s Network Without Pairing — Security Concern

Powerline AV600 Wi-Fi Unit Bridging Into Neighbor’s Network Without Pairing — Security Concern
Powerline AV600 Wi-Fi Unit Bridging Into Neighbor’s Network Without Pairing — Security Concern
Tuesday

 

Hi TP-Link Support Team,

 

I’ve encountered a serious and unexpected behavior with a TP-Link AV600 powerline Wi-Fi adapter, and I want to document it clearly to understand what might be happening.

 

Summary

A standalone AV600 powerline Wi-Fi unit (only the Wi-Fi extender portion of the kit) is connecting directly to my neighbor’s router/network, even though:

  • No other powerline adapters are plugged in on my side

  • No Ethernet cables are connected

  • My own modem/router is completely powered off during the test

  • I did not pair the unit in this location

  • I have never paired it with my neighbor’s equipment

Despite this, the AV600 Wi-Fi SSID provides full internet access, and the router management page clearly belongs to a neighbor (confirmed in person — they gave permission to test further).

This should not be possible unless something in the powerline encryption/pairing process is failing.

 

Important Context

  • The kit was purchased in New Zealand

  • Now being used in Argentina

  • Local electrical wiring may be older / shared between apartments

  • The neighbor’s router is confirmed to be the one my AV600 is bridging into

  • I have not factory-reset the device yet because I want to preserve the test environment until I understand the issue

 

What I Understand About Powerline Security

My understanding is that TP-Link powerline adapters:

  • Use AES encryption

  • Do not join a network unless the pairing button is used

  • Should not connect to unrelated AV-series devices even if they share wiring

  • Should not share the same default network key across households

And yet, my unpaired device is clearly joining another AV network.

 

Q?

  1. How is it technically possible for an AV600 unit to join a different household’s AV network without pairing?

  2. Do some models ship with a universal default encryption key that causes accidental cross-pairing?

  3. Is this a known issue with the AV600 series (especially older models or NZ/ANZ-region variants)?

  4. Under what wiring or electrical layouts could this occur?

  5. Is there a firmware fix or recommended mitigation?

I can provide MAC addresses, firmware versions, and exact model numbers if needed.

This seems like a significant security issue, so I appreciate any detailed technical explanation you can share.

Thanks in advance.

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3 Reply
Re:Powerline AV600 Wi-Fi Unit Bridging Into Neighbor’s Network Without Pairing — Security Concern
Tuesday

  @Cristian_Ututo 

 

Hi,

 

Indeed, some models of Powerline adapters are shipped in an "unsecured" state and a new adapter can be added by merely plugging the new adapter in a socket that is on the same electrical circuit. If the user wishes to prevent this he/she needs to "secure" the Powerline network by "pairing" the legitimate Powerline adapters via the "Pair" buttons. This is usually explained in the user manuals for the devices.

 

Obviously your neighbor never performed that procedure.

 

If I take, for example, the user manual of a TL-WPA4220 (don't know if this is the actual model you have), then section "2.2. To Extend the Existing Wireless Network" basically describes same the actions and outcome that you mentioned in your Summary.

https://static.tp-link.com/2020/202008/20200824/1910012821_TL-WPA4220(EU)_UG_REV5.0.0.pdf

 

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Re:Powerline AV600 Wi-Fi Unit Bridging Into Neighbor’s Network Without Pairing — Security Concern
Tuesday

  @woozle thanks for the answer.

 

So, I've performed the pair method while in NZ. In theory, this made my network secure. However, as soon as I plugged the WiFi-Extender, I was able to connect to another network. How come this happened since my device was not paired again?

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Re:Powerline AV600 Wi-Fi Unit Bridging Into Neighbor’s Network Without Pairing — Security Concern
Yesterday

  @Cristian_Ututo 

 

If the Powerline adapter was indeed "secured" by pairing via the "Pair" buttons, then of course it should not have automatically joined the Powerline network of your neighbor.

 

Are you absolutely sure your Powerline adapter was not "reset" between back when you used it in NZ and now when it automatically connected to your neighbor's Powerline network?


I just did a test with a set of two TL-PA7017P and one TL-WPA4220 V4 that I have.

First I reset the two TL-PA7017P and then when I plugged them into wall sockets, they automatically established an unsecured Powerline network between them. (which is the condition we assume your neighbor's Powerline adapters are in)

Then I plugged in my TL-WPA4220 that was previously securely paired to yet another Powerline adapter. -> Nothing happened. The Powerline LED remained off. This is the expected behavior.
So I pushed the "Reset" button of the TL-WPA4220 to clear its secure pairing. -> The TL-WPA4220 restarted and a few seconds later its Powerline LED turned on, because it had automatically joined the Powerline network of the two TL-PA7017P. This is the intended behavior for the involved models.

 

Perhaps you can test this on your side again and if it turns out that the AV600 that you indeed secure-paired to your other Powerline adapter will afterwards still automatically connect to your to neighbor's Powerline network, then look up the model number and hardware and firmware version of your AV600 and report it to TP-Link so that they can have a look into this issue.

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