Hi @VickyEJ @Debbie-TalkTalk
I am sorry, but I must disagree that UPnP when enabled does not pose a security threat, it most definitely does. Whoever told Debbie this, is wrong.
Whilst this can be very convenient, be aware that there are known vulnerabilities when a router has UPnP enabled. It is not just the device utilising UPnP that can be made insecure but any device connected to the router can become vulnerable.
To understand why just enabling UPnP can make your network and the connected devices vulnerable, just consider the capabilities that IGDP has and this will make it easy to understand why you do not want it controlled via UPnP:-
1. It does not require any login credentials to perform any of the following on your router.
2. Learn the public (WAN) IP address of the router
3. Request a new public IP address for the router
4. List existing port mappings on the router
5. Add and remove port mappings on the router
6. Assign lease times to mappings on the router
Any malware etc that manages to infect a device on your local network can utilise UPnP, just like legitimate applications can. Whilst a router normally blocks incoming connections, preventing some malicious access, UPnP could allow a malicious process to bypass the firewall entirely.
There is no way to mitigate this vulnerability, because UPnP treats all local applications as trustworthy and allows them to forward ports.
Note as mentioned above, there is no login required to change these port mappings, thus making it very easy for malware to take advantage of UPnP. The only way to make UPnP secure is to disable it. Therefore the much safer approach is to use Port Forwarding & leave UPnP disabled.
If your WhatsApp requires any port forwarding, which I doubt, I can help with this.
