Incorrect OpenWrt version in Beta 4.7.2 for GL-B3000 Marble

Routers
1

device-info
device-info1682Ă—984 85.2 KB

I bought a GL-B3000, which runs OpenWrt 19.07. I want to run a more-recent version, so I installed the beta of version 4.7.2, which I believe to be based on OpenWrt 23.05. But I still see OpenWrt 19.07 when I bring up the Device Info screen.

I've attached a PNG. I see 4.7.2 (to the left of the red arrow), so I think I've successfully installed the beta version. But the OpenWrt version says 19.07, and the kernel version is 5.4, which matches a 19.07 installation. Maybe I've made some mistake, and failed to correctly install the beta?

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Hi,

You are right.
You have successfully installed the GL firmware.
The openwrt version corresponding to V4.7.2 is still 19.07 and has not been upgraded to 23.05.

4

Thank you for your response. Are there any plans to ever upgrade the Marble beyond 19.07? The reason I ask is that the Dropbear plugin is also from 2019. That means (1) Dropbear doesn't offer any ciphers that work with the current OpenSSH client, and (2) that several Dropbear CVEs, which were reported after 2019, are presumably not patched.

5

The version is unfortunately correct.
GL-B3000 use the same target platform like the GL-X2000 (brand new) - ipq50xx.

see GL-X2000 with openwrt 19.07 - what the

Kind regards

6

it's absolute insane to release products with such an old base sdk.

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openssh-cannot-connect.tar (10 KB)

I've attached a file with the debug output from my SSH client. My reading is that Dropbear only offers ciphers that have been removed from OpenSSH, probably because they're insecure.

8

Someone has added the GL-B3000 to OpenWrt, though it's only available as a snapshot right now. (See Index of /snapshots/targets/qualcommax/ipq50xx/). I'm thinking about trying a "factory install" of it, but I'm unsure whether I'd be able to reinstall 4.7.2 if I did.

9

I agree that it is insane for GL iNet to use such an old base.

My work-around for ssh is to use the less secure ciphers by setting the following in my .ssh/config file:

Host router
   Hostname 192.168.22.1
   User root
   HostKeyAlgorithms +ssh-rsa
   PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms +ssh-rsa

Not a great solution, but it works, and I only allow ssh access on the local network.

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I don't want to use the word "insane," but GL-Inet is selling to enthusiasts who care that OpenWrt 19.07 was end-of-lifed years ago. Why wouldn't GL-Inet ship a current release of OpenWrt, like they do on some of their other routers? It's a completely avoidable problem.

At the very least, GL-Inet could provide better disclosure, and suggest a workaround if one is available.

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11

Along with using very outdated versions of OpenWRT, the GL iNet support team does a poor job of supplying workarounds or reporting known bugs in their firmware. The only thing they recommend is searching this forum, which, as it uses free-form entry, is not easy to do for specific problems.

I posted about the SSH issue a while back, but I don’t expect many people can find it due to the limited search tools available:

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12

It sounds like GL-Inet is unlikely to ever move the Marble to a current release of OpenWrt. So I'm taking a risk: I flashed my Marble with the snapshot version of OpenWrt. I've only gotten far enough to SSH in, set my password and install LuCI. But that's a start.

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The B3000 router is developed based on the Qualcomm plan. We have not adopted the latest OpenWRT 23.05 version for the time being, mainly because there may still be potential BUG risks in the new version. To ensure a stable user experience for customers who use the B3000 on a large scale, we have not proceeded with this version upgrade.

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Hi alen5193,

do you know how many BUG risks still hide in all these packages, which are shipped with OpenWRT 19.07? (EOL 2022)
Why don't you make an alpha release for those adventurous guys like us for the GL-B3000/GL-X2000 :wink:

Kind regards

boecko

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@alen5193 I'm assuming that you mean that OpenWrt 23.05 will be released on the GL-B3000 at some point. What's the roadmap for that? Surely GL-Inet can't just abandon all the people who received end-of-life software when they bought a B3000.

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Hi all,

We want to avoid introducing new risks to devices already in stable use.

For enthusiasts wanting to test newer OpenWRT builds: While we won’t release official alpha versions now, the open-source nature of OpenWRT means you can explore community-compiled builds.

Regarding security concerns: We understand the importance of keeping firmware secure. The firmware security of current devices is also guaranteed. For devices like the B3000, we’ll continue to monitor and address critical security vulnerabilities where feasible, even without major version upgrades.

We’ll keep supporting where possible, but major version jumps like 23.05 aren’t on our roadmap.

Appreciate your understanding—our focus is ensuring a reliable experience for all users.

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17

Thank you :slight_smile: you guys are doing a great job :slight_smile:

For a $40 dollar router with WiFi 6, I think it's great

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It really is a great $40 router. I just ordered a second one, because I'm now confident that I can install vanilla OpenWrt from the snapshot build and it'll work just fine. It took me a long time to work up the courage to do it, though.

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19

My B3000 is stable and it works wonderfully. I don't have any problems with Stable firmware.

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Speaking of EOL, the 5.4 Linux kernel that's in Beta 4.7.2 will be EOL in December.