Software bugs in a fundamental language of the Internet could leave routers, switches and even PCs open to attack, an Internet security watchdog said Tuesday. The problems affect the Simple Network Management Protocol, or SNMP, a basic language used to talk to routers, switches, printers and other managed network devices to allow network engineers to glean status and performance information.. . .

Software bugs in a fundamental language of the Internet could leave routers, switches and even PCs open to attack, an Internet security watchdog said Tuesday. The problems affect the Simple Network Management Protocol, or SNMP, a basic language used to talk to routers, switches, printers and other managed network devices to allow network engineers to glean status and performance information.

Products from more than 200 makers of Internet-connected hardware are affected by the flaw, said Martin Lindner, team leader for incident handling at the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordination Center, a major Internet security watchdog. "It is a very prevalent protocol," Lindner said. 'It's used everywhere."

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