C
MODERATE RISK
General entry for Asus's RT-AC router family (AC1200 through AC3100). Taiwanese company, no Chinese government legal exposure, active AiProtection support. All AC-series hardware is manufactured in China — subject to the March 2026 FCC foreign manufacture ban. Search for your specific model (RT-AC68U, RT-AC86U, etc.) for a model-specific report if available.
- Foreign manufacture — FCC ban applies to AC series: All Asus RT-AC routers are manufactured in China. The FCC's March 2026 rule applies to manufacturing origin. No US manufacturing exemption is on file.
- Asus CVE history — regular patches required: Asus RT-AC routers have had critical vulnerabilities. Asus patches quickly relative to the industry, but only if auto-updates are enabled.
- Auto-updates disabled by default: All Asus routers require manual opt-in for automatic firmware updates. Enable them immediately in the admin panel.
FCC & Ban Risk
57
/100
C
Supply chain · FCC status · CVEs · Patch support
Security Capabilities
19
/100
F
Zero-Trust · VPN · Segmentation · Monitoring
🏭 Manufacturer
Taiwan-headquartered
ASUSTeK Computer Inc., Taipei, Taiwan — TWSE: 2357. AC-series routers manufactured in China.
Manufactured in: China
🏛️ FCC Status
FCC authorized — foreign manufacture rule applies
Foreign manufacture — subject to FCC March 2026 ban
🛡️ Patch Support
Active
Whether security vulnerabilities are actively being patched
⚠️ Key Finding
high
Foreign manufacture — FCC ban applies to AC series
Router Security Updates
Get notified if new vulnerabilities are discovered for your Asus RT-AC Series. Free, no spam.
🔒
Security capabilities comparison
We benchmark your router against Rio Router across 8 dimensions so you can see exactly what gaps exist - and what a fully-covered setup looks like.
ASUS
your router
Rio Router™
full standard
Zero-Trust Device Admission
Every new device is blocked by default - admin must approve it once, even if it has the right password
Not available
Available
Network Segmentation (VLANs)
Devices on your network are isolated from each other, so a hacked smart TV can't reach your laptop
Partial
Available
Router-Level VPN for All Devices
All traffic - including smart devices that can't run VPN apps - is encrypted before leaving your home
Not available
Available
Domain Allowlisting
Block everything except approved sites; more effective than trying to blacklist billions of harmful URLs
Not available
Available
Granular Password Control
Separate passwords per network zone - changing one doesn't affect others
Partial
Available
Guest Auto-Expiry
Guest devices are automatically removed when they leave; neighbors can't reconnect without re-approval
Not available
Available
Clean Supply Chain
Manufactured outside Chinese legal jurisdiction - not subject to China's National Intelligence Law
Not available
Available
Active Threat Monitoring
DNS filtering, firewall, activity logs, and ongoing security patch support
Partial
Available
We use Rio Router as the benchmark because it’s the only consumer router built to score 8/8 on this framework - it shows you what a fully-covered setup looks like, not just what’s typical.
See Rio →
See all Asus models: Asus brand overview →
What you should do
1
Enable automatic firmware updates (Advanced Settings → Administration → Firmware Upgrade)
2
Enable AiProtection — free Trend Micro threat detection
3
Change default admin password
4
Plan migration to Wi-Fi 6 hardware per FCC foreign manufacture rule
How this was scored · verified March 2026: This rating combines FCC authorization status, manufacturer legal jurisdiction, CVEs from NIST NVD, active patch support status, and CISA advisory mentions. See full methodology →
Reference Data
Known CVEs - Asus brand history
From the NIST National Vulnerability Database. Your specific model may or may not be affected.
Format string vulnerability in iperf service. Unauthenticated remote code execution.
See all Asus CVEs: NIST NVD search →
Sources & evidence
All findings trace to publicly verifiable primary sources - US government databases, official FCC filings, and NIST CVE records. No proprietary or anonymous sources are used.
Full data source documentation: Scoring Methodology & Citations →